NW5
by ThatGirl
Summary: Young Justice's adventure with a disease made by scientists at the D.E.O. While our favorite heroes are infected they have to keep themselves from spreading the disease and get themselves cured before the final stage of the disease kicks in...Death! *fin*
1. Part 1: It's Been a Hard Day's Night

Ladies and gentlemen, I finally bring you that which I had worked so hard on. This is the LONGEST YJ fan fiction in existance (as far as I know). I call it NW5. Maybe you've seen it on the YJMB? Ayway, it's here in full-form (or it will be). My masterpiece, NW5. Enjoy! ^.^ (PS. Those who have read this before may have noticed there are a few changes...).  
  


  


NW5  
  
By: ThatGirl

  
  


  
It had been a long hard day and it was about time that he got a break. He slumped down in a chair and nearly nodded off right there when his watch started to beep. A groan emerged from his throat as he glared down at his watch with anger. It beeped defiantly again as if to taunt him.  


  
"Geez! Yeah I'm coming I'm coming. Can't even get a minute to rest!" He grumbled and stood up. He was young. Young forever in fact. He stretched a little and yawned. Today had been an extremely exhausting day for Superboy (AKA Kon-El); a meeting of Young Justice was something he did not need. He started to fly up but fell back down. He growled a few cuss words under his breath. The day had been a long hard one and he barely had enough strength to fly.  


  
The day had started out rough for the young superhero. Loud screams had awaked him from almost getting some much needed rest. Right then and there he knew it was going to be one of those days. But, it wasn't going to be just _one_ of those days. It had been a _week_ of those days. Nearly three weeks actually. It seemed Hawaii had been in total chaos for the past 19 days. It was as if a super-villain convention had broken out in the small part of the un-continental US. It was absolutely tiresome with new villains he hadn't even heard of before and old ones that were seriously grinding his nerves. Not to mention, he had to fight them all by himself for some reason. It was as if the other superheroes just backed off and ignored it. Not that he needed any help. After all, he was Hawaii's coolest hero. But still, he couldn't help feel embarrassed and alone.  


  
Near the end of that week he had been getting kind of sloppy and weak. Ever minute of the day a new problem seemed to have erupted. Even at night things weren't much better. Superboy hadn't gotten a wink of sleep for 19 days straight. He couldn't believe that the Boy of Steel was so tired. It was only a few nights without sleep. But, he was just as drained as any other kid.  


  
He shook off his weariness and flew up again. It seemed to get harder each time he started to fly. So, he lessened his pace a bit. Robin wouldn't mind too much if he were a _little_ late. Superboy had been so busy he didn't even have time to flirt with the local girls. Well, at least he could check a couple out on his way. All of the sudden, he heard horrified screams below him. He looked down to see a 50ft tidal wave headed straight toward the beach-going tourists.  


  
"Here we go again." He sighed and flew down to stop the newest natural disaster of Hawaii.  


  
  


* * * *

  


  
"Why do you people do this to me?" Robin (AKA Tim Drake) covered his mask with his hand and lowered his head.  


  
"Chill out, Rob. He's just a little late." WonderGirl (AKA Cassie Sandsmark) said sitting around the old JLA table in what once was WonderWoman's chair. Young Justice had all gathered in the Justice cave in Happy Harbor, Rhode Island (which used to be the old JLA HQ until they moved to the moon). Well, almost all of them.  


  
"A little late?" Robin began, "He's an hour late!" He exclaimed. The Boy Wonder started to pace around the cave. Today had not been a very fun day for Robin either. A close friend of his had been caught in a gang shoot out the night before and was placed in critical condition in the hospital. All he could think about was how he could've saved his friend. He could die at any minute and Tim Drake wanted to be there for the last minutes of life. But, Young Justice had to discuss a plan for a recent problem that had developed. Now, if only Superboy would get there already. He let out an exasperated sigh.  


  
"I'm tired of waiting around!" Impulse (AKA Bart Allen) complained for the 452,897,654th time. Robin had been keeping track. "I can't take it!" Bart Allen complained again grabbing his head as if he were in pain. "PLEASE! Let's just go! I'm tired of waiting around!" Impulse complained again.  


  
"Number 452,897,655…" Robin murmured getting more and more perturbed.   


  
"Let's go!" Impulse ran around the cave at top speed impatiently, "Let'sgolet'sgolet'sgolet'sgolet'sgolet'sgo…" His words ran together as he spoke at a speed no mortal man could ever accomplish.   


  
"Cool it, Imp." Arrowette (AKA Cissie King-Jones) pleaded for the…well Robin had lost track of how many times Cissie had said that.  


  
"Awww! Come on! I can't take this waiting let's just start! It'll teach im' for bein' so late! Can we just start?!" Bart just couldn't take it! If SB wasn't gonna show up, then he wasn't gonna stay.  


  
"No Bart! No! He will be here. We just gotta wait a little longer and-" WonderGirl started to let off a little steam on the 2 year old teen when she was interrupted by a rankled sigh.  


  
"No, we can't wait any longer. This is a serious situation we don't have anymore time to waste. We better get started without Superboy." Robin said.  


  
"Are my ears burning?" Superboy asked as he flew in through the main entrance. He tried to keep a cheerful disposition but it was getting a little difficult to act happy with such upset faces starring at him. "Uh…sorry?"   


  
Although the others were oblivious to the apparent exhaustion of The Metropolis Kid, Robin could see the difference in his composure. He noticed the slight slump and the lack of alertness. SB looked as if he had been through sleep depravation. His hair was mussed and tussled with a few pieces of seaweed still clinging to it. Not to mention, his jacket looked as if it had been through hell four or five times. Robin had remembered a few news reports of Hawaii being attacked by several criminals and natural disasters had been occurring frequently in that area of the US.  


  
"Probably, should of left him behind on this one." Robin muttered under his breath.  


  
"Hey! I'm here aren't I?" Superboy's tired eyes glimmered with fury, "I ain't gonna miss this. So I was a little late! I'm here and now we can go." He scowled irately at Robin.  


  
"YEAH!" Imp's obnoxious voice cut the anger in half, "Let's go!" Impulse was already gone before he finished the last part of the statement. Robin shook his head.  


  
"3…2…1…" Robin counted backwards when Bart dashed back into the cave.  
  
"Uh…where are we going?"  



	2. Part 2: Justice's Worst Nightmare

  
  


  
Everyone had gathered inside the Super-Cycle and was on their way to an unknown destination. The questions in everyone's heads were the same,_ What were they doing there? Where were they going? Who were they going to fight? _ These questions plagued all the Young Justice members.  


  
"Are we there yet?" Almost all. Bart piped up for the 7,896th time. Everyone had been keeping track.  


  
"Shut up already! We just left 5 minutes ago!" Superboy growled. He had gotten sick and tired of Impulse even though he had only been there for a few minutes. Superboy's outright audacity was directly connected to a bad mood he had landed in since he had arrived.  


  
"Geez, SB, I was just asking! No harm in asking!" Impulse pouted and stuck his tongue out at The Kid of Steel.  


  
"Speak of the Devil." A voice came from the back of the Super-Cycle. The group turned around to see Harm (AKA Billy ?) clinging to the back of the Super-Cycle with a menacing look on his painted face. He bounded into the very back of the Super-Cycle raising his long katana blade high into the air.  


  
"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Young Justice screamed in utter surprise. Harm swung his sword at Arrowette quickly. She barely had time to dodge the deadly blow. The blade scraped her shoulder slicing a good hunk of it off. Blood poured from the wound making the bone visible. Arrowette howled in pure anguish.  


  
"Whoops. Did I hit your shoulder? I'll aim better next time!" Harm laughed evilly as he lifted his puissant weapon again for another attack. WonderGirl snatched the weapon in Harm's hands violently and tried to pull it away from the dangerous villain. Which should've been easy for some with super strength. But, the teenage supervillain quickly raised a powerful hand and knocked Cissie out of the Super-Cycle with great force. "Fetch" he said demonically. WonderGirl started to go after Arrowette but Superboy was already on it.  


  
Impulse was in shock watching these horrible things happen to his friends. However, he swiftly snapped out of his trance and went after Harm angrily. Bart leapt into the air and tried to tackle Billy. But, he stepped out of the way forcing Impulse to crash into Robin who was desperately trying to land the Super-Cycle someplace nearby.  


  
Arrowette's sudden departure left Cassie distracted long enough for Harm to take his sword out of her hands and stabbed the long blade into the control panel of the cycle. It plummeted toward the ground with at an incredible rate. Robin tried all he could to get everyone out of there, giving orders to abandon the cycle. However, an explosion from the Super-Cycle's main panel drowned out his frantic instructions. Harm laughed as he deserted the doomed vehicle.  


  
Superboy heard the terrified shrieks of his teammates and rushed back to the crashing craft leaving Arrowette's frame upon the ground. Flying back as fast as he possibly could, fearful thoughts began to fill his head. His worries were concluded by the horrible site of the disheveled Super-Cycle on the smoldering gravel. His jaw dropped open in complete and absolute trepidation. Superboy flung the remaining pieces of the Super-Cycle off his partners. He unfortunately found what he was looking for.  
The Metropolis Kid stumbled back upon seeing the horrid sight of his friends' limp bodies. The pure trauma of it caused him to step back, with his hand over his mouth, and slightly shaking his head in disbelief. As he took another step back he tripped over something and landed hard on his butt. Superboy looked to see what he had fallen over. To his dismay it was the leader of Young Justice, Robin.  


  
"Oh my God, not you too Rob." The Kid knelt down next to him hanging his head in sorrow when he heard a weak cough. "Rob?"  


  
"S-Superboy?" Robin pitifully asked lying on his side bleeding from his head.  


  
"You're alive!" Superboy cheered with tears of joy running down his cheek. Robin coughed again and moaned in pain.  


  
"Not for long." The Boy Wonder feebly murmured, "Superboy?"  


  
"What? What is it Rob?" He asked leaning over his fallen ally with concern.  


  
"P-promise me something. Promise me something be-before I…" Robin began to trail off.  


  
"No! You cannot go!" SB shook Robin hard making him spit up a little blood.  


  
"Promise me…promise that you'll always be listening." He pathetically choked out.  


  
"What?" The Kid asked confused on what his dying friend was requesting him to do.  


  
"Superboy! Are you listening?" Robin began to grow fuzzy and his cries became louder. "Have you been listening to ANYTHING I've been saying?!" Suddenly, the sight of his teammate perishing in the rubble of the once great Super-Cycle, blurred into the same person except with an irritated temperament.  


  
"Huh?" SB groggily woke up from his disturbing nightmare to a much worse fate.  


  
"You just woke up didn't you?!" Robin glared angrily at the now attentive Superboy, "You haven't heard a single word I've said throughout this entire meeting, have you?" this really infuriated Robin . He had been standing there discussing important issues that needed to be addressed immediately and Superboy fell asleep in the middle of it.   


  
"Oh man!" SB smiled with relief to see all his friends there, healthy and alive. Even though most of them had a very displeased look on their faces, he didn't care, "I had the worst dream. It was horrible! We were in the Super-Cycle goin' somewhere, Rob wouldn't tell us for some reason, and Imp was annoyin' the Heck outta me…as usual. Then all of the sudden, Har-"  


  
"THANK YOU, SUPERBOY!" Robin yelled with rage and irritation instead of his usually calm voice, "We are all a little dumber upon hearing that moronic jabber! THANK YOU SO MUCH!"  


  
"Well, I'm not so glad to see you alive now." Superboy gave an annoyed scowl at The Boy Wonder. But, his scowl was no match for the one Robin currently held. Rob broke away from the intense grimacing and turned back to his other teammates.  


  
"Now, does everyone ELSE know what we're doing?" Robin inquired with a stern look on his face. The others just nodded automatically. It surprised them to see Robin act so oddly. They had never heard him yell like that before.   


  
"Good. Then let's go."  


  
"Hold on a sec! I don't know what's goin' on!" Superboy protested.   


  
"Well, maybe next time you'll pay attention." The Boy Wonder snapped. He then turned around and called for the Super-Cycle.  


  
"Hey wait! I wanna come! Just fill me in and I'll-" He started to say when Robin turned to him and promptly punched him in the chops. Not expecting Rob to do such a thing, he was unprepared and stumbled back. Everybody including Superboy was shocked at their leader's actions. Robin gave SB an extremely cold look, turned around, and headed off to the Super-Cycle leaving his teammates stunned.  


  



	3. Part 3: Mission Questionable

  
  


  
Everyone was silent (even Imp) as Rob started to steer toward the outer areas of the DEO. It was an odd silence. None of the members knew how to feel about what had recently happened. Not even Robin himself understood what he had done or why he had done it. His emotions were all mixed up inside. The thought of his friend in the hospital already had his mind a little preoccupied, but now the image of his behavior was fixated in his head. How could he let his emotions get the better of him? Why did he let that happen? Robin couldn't comprehend. He wanted to apologize to Superboy, but for some reason, he just couldn't. The trip continued in utter reticence until, out of nowhere, Cissie spoke up.  


  
"Rob, what made you go off like that back at the cave?" It was a pretty bold move for Arrowette considering the way he had reacted to Superboy. But, something was eating away inside of Cissie. The way Rob had acted was really wrong. She'd known Rob to be a levelheaded, calm, cool leader. Someone the rest of the group, and herself, looked up to. For him to suddenly lash out like that was completely out of his character.   


  
The anticipation began to grow as the rest of the group awaited his response. They didn't know what he was going to say or do. The young heroes waited curiously. Robin sighed deeply and thought for a minute.   


  
Impulse was getting impatient with how long it was taking his friend to answer. He, himself, was curious why Robin reacted that way for about 5 seconds. As most of us know, his attention span isn't very long. Now that this had sparked up in the long silence, he was slightly interested. But if Rob kept taking so long, he was going to get real bored, real fast.  


  
"He probably got tired of Superboy's bull and slugged him one." Bart offered.   


  
"I should've smacked you first." Tim murmured. He was shocked at the words that had come out of his mouth. "Sorry." He whispered silently with shame. No one had heard his rude remark so there was no need to apologize for it, but Robin still felt bad.   


  
"If I'm not going to get another beat down by Rob," Superboy crossed his arms; "I'd like to know what's going on here." He had remained silent for the majority of the trip for he was still hurt, mostly emotionally. But, The Kid refused to show that the strike from Robin hurt his feelings. That just wasn't him.   


  
WonderGirl felt it was, in some way, her responsibility to answer his question, "It turns out there's been some kind of break out at the DEO and we need to check it out. Rob said he had heard rumors and went over there earlier." Before WonderGirl could finish explaining, Secret cut in.  


  
"He said he'd seen DEO agents scattered around the building searching for the escapees. Robin overheard them say something about being in the middle of an experiment when it escaped." Secret shuddered remembering some of her years in the DEO. Although she tried not to think about it, some of the blurred memories filtered into her head. Secret suddenly fell silent as the memories plagued her mind.  


  
"Like Secret was saying," Robin began, noticing the far away look that had suddenly grazed Secret's face, "It turns out that there were two escapees. One of which was in the middle of an experiment. The test being performed on the escapee consisted of dangerous chemicals that could have poisonous affects that could possibly be hurting or killing the subject." The rest of the group gasped in horror. Such horrible things were being done to innocent people? It was unthinkable! Robin continued, "The infected escapee broke out around 3 hours ago. Fortunately, the DEO has made sure that the subject had been kept captive in a nearby forest."  


  
"So…what exactly is our mission?" Superboy inquired dumbly.  


  
"We are going to go save the escapees and cure the infected one!" Secret answered quickly. She hated to think of what other horrible things the DEO would do to the poor subjects if they were recaptured. Secret was determined to find someway to let these tortured souls be free.  


  



	4. Part 4: Over the River and Through the W...

  
It was around 6 o'clock when Young Justice arrived at the forest where the DEO mentioned the escapees were. Robin landed the Super-Cycle in a small clearing in the forest. The group climbed out of the cycle and took a look around. Dark trees encircled the teen heroes from all sides with hand-like branches reaching out ominously. The sinister trees reached up to the sky blocking out the sun and the dry ground was covered in dead, crackled, foliage.  


  
"Like something out of a horror story." Arrowette muttered under her breath. The truth was the area and the whole idea was really creeping her out. Sneaking around in the dark forest with DEO agents crawling all over it, searching for two-escaped subject, one of which was poisoned. She hated to think what lurked behind the amoral looking trees. Of course, she wasn't afraid. The place just creeped her out a little. Just a little.  


  
"Imp," Robin whispered, he didn't want to speak too loud in case any DEO agents were nearby, "search the forest-" Before Robin could finish, and as predicted, Impulse was already gone.  


  
"Right!" Impulse yelled as he ran at top speed to search the forest.  


  
"Does he ever learn?" WonderGirl asked rudely placing her hands on her hips. She wanted to get the creatures and go already. WonderGirl was feeling a little wary as well. She was annoyed that she had to stay on guard and watch for DEO agents or an escapee. Not to metnion, none of the Young Justice members knew what this thing looked like or what its strange powers were. So, how were they ever supposed to find it? _Maybe Secret will know a little about it._ WonderGirl thought. _Of course she wouldn't, Cassie you moron! She doesn't know it's name, it's powers, or what it-._ Right then to interrupt her thoughts, Impulse came barging in through the woods into the clearing (mind you that these thoughts were taking place as she was speaking).  


  
"HEY ROB!" Bart yelled so loud that the crows flew from their perches high up in the maple trees, "Whatdoyouwantmetosearchforagain? Iwasjustaboutto-" Robin grabbed Bart and clasped his hand over his mouth.  


  
"Shut up you moron!" Rob hissed cruelly, "You want to give us away? Tell me when you become the next Flash so I can shoot myself before you screw up the world!" He let Impulse out of his grasp and turned him around, "Now go find out the locations of the DEO agents in this forest and do something right for once!"  


  
Robin's harsh words stung Imp. Rob was supposed to be his friend, but how could he say such horrible things? The hurt was clear in his expression. Impulse _slowly_ nodded his head and zwipped off to do as Rob had requested.  
Arrowette was shocked and confused at what she had just overheard Robin say to Impulse. For God's sake, he was only two years old! This just kept getting weirder and weirder. First the outburst at the cave, now this? There was obviously something wrong with Robin.  


  
Impulse sped through the dark foreboding woods with Rob's words still ringing in his ears. _Tell me when you become the next Flash so I can shoot myself before you screw up the world! …do something right for once!_ "I was only trying to help." Impulse mumbled sadly, "I mean, he asked me to search the forest…although I didn't stay long enough to hear the rest." Whilst Bart quietly chatted with himself, he failed to see the object in front of him and promptly smacked into it. "OOF!" Imp flew backward and missed crashing into several trees when he hit a large wet rotting oak. The decaying bark crumbled as Bart hit the tree with an amazing force causing the speedster to fall inside the moist corroding wood. "oowwwww" He let out a pitiful cry, "Whad I hit?" He growled getting up a little. Impulse was having problems getting out of the inside of the tree when his hand started to itch a little. Then, his arm started to itch, then his legs, all the sudden he began to itch all over! He looked down at his arm to see that thousands of termites were covering his limb! "AHHHHHH!" Imp screamed and practically leapt out of the tree, for some reason he could get out of there easily now. The young speedster spun as fast as he could which made the termites fly off his body. When Imp stopped spinning, he heard loud shrieks from behind him. Bart turned around and saw a man rolling on the ground with termites on him.   


  
"Get it off of me! GET IT OFF!" The man frantically tried to scrape the crawling insects off his skin. The force of the flight off the teenager had caused some of the bugs to break a few layers of the man's flesh leaving termite-shaped holes in it. "AHHHHH!!" The man screamed in utter horror.  


  
"Oops." Bart went over to help the poor hysterical man when Robin's words came back in his head: _…do something right for once!_ Imp frowned realizing that he had probably screwed this up. Impulse shook off his feelings of self-pity and started to pull the little bugs off the flailing man. When he noticed the hat that he wore said: D.E.O. He stopped to think for a minute, something he rarely did. _He's from the D.E.O and I'm supposed to look for people from the D.E.O…what would Robin do?_ Bart pondered this for a minute. Than took another minute. The man was still panicking. "Ah ha!" The teenage speedster said triumphantly. "Tell me what you're doing here and what the escapees look like or I won't get the bugs off you!" Impulse smiled proudly.  


  
"AHHH! No I—AHHH!! OK, OK!" He screamed starring at the tiny termites that covered his body. If it weren't for the man's immense fear of insects, he would've never told. Luck was certainly on Imp's side for this one. "We-we were spying on y-you! AHHH!! Get them off p-please!!!"  
Bart felt pity for the man but needed the information, and giving in was not what Robin would've done. He took one termite off and chucked it to the side.   


  
"The rest will come off after you've told me what I want to know." The sudden thought of himself dressed in the Robin costume popped into his head.  


  
"O-ok! W-we were spying and waiting for y-you to get the escapee for us. T-then my partner a-and I would signal f-for the other agents to come and take the s-subject from youuuuu—AHHHHHH!!" The man screamed and grabbed the speedster, "J-just HELP ME!!"   


  



	5. Part 5: Do the Right Thing

  
There was an eerie silence as the young team of super-heroes awaited the return of their speedy friend. The teammates were worried that Imp was in serious trouble. It had been a long time since he had left, leaving the group a little distressed.  


  
"It's been 5 minutes, Imp should've been back by now!" WonderGirl had a concerned expression upon her face. Everyone agreed that something must have been wrong, except for Robin.  


  
"I wouldn't panic." Robin said cooly, "He probably just got distracted. You know how Imp is. He's probably chasing squirrels." The others relaxed a little, but, only for a moment. All of the sudden, Impulse zwipped up to them a huge bunch of leaves flying behind in his wake.  


  
"Guesswhat?" Bart grinned proudly.  


  
"You caught the squirrel?" Superboy sardonically smirked.  


  
"What squirrel? Where's the squirrel? Who said anything about a squirrel?" Imp pondered hard on what SB meant.  


  
"Just tell us what you found, Bart" Arrowette sighed.  


  
"Ok!" Impulse began again, "I was going through the forest looking for D.E.O agents an' I found one! I got him to tell me what he was doing there an' what we're looking for which we shouldn't be looking for anymore because it's a trap!"  


  
"Hold on a second!" Cassie looked confused and glared at Imp, "Exactly how did you get him to tell you this?"  


  
"Well, as I was running I hit the guy and flew backwards! I hit a tree and fell inside of it and all these bugs started climbin' all over me so I jumped up an' spun around and all the bugs flew off onto the guy and so, I told the guy that if he didn't tell me what he was doing there and what the subjects looked like I wouldn't take the bugs off him!" He crossed his arms with pride.  


  
"What do they look like?" Secret asked curiously.  


  
"The guy said that they were water sort of things. It looks like a puddle but it could be any kind of liquid form really." Imp replied.  


  
"Then what did you do with him?" Arrowette question a little worried. _When did Imp threaten people?_  


  
"I took the bugs off him and let him go then I-" He was cut short by Robin.   


  
"You let him go!? And you knew it was a trap!? You've shortened our time to look for these things immensely!" The Boy Wonder turned to the rest of the group, "We'll have to do the best we can around here but we don't have as much time as before. Superboy and Wondergirl can do an aerial search…and Imp can look through the forest but that's about all I can do." The last statement was directed mostly towards Secret. The rest of team disbanded to look for the puddle beings. But before Robin left to do a quick search around the area he heard Impulse say softly:  


  
"I was only trying to do something right." Imp's soft comment hit him hard. The way he had acted before…it just wasn't normal. He'd have to figure out what was wrong later. They only had a few minutes to search for the creature before the D.E.O came.   


  
The man from the D.E.O had come to his partner panting and gasping for air. His brow was burdened by droplets of sweat that dripped down his face and off his chin. When he told his partner what had happened, his friend wasn't that understanding.  


  
"YOU WHAT?!" The man exclaimed with fury in his eyes.  


  
"I-I had to! You know how I am around insects!" The man pleaded. His partner sighed.  


  
"The Major won't take kindly to this, Johnson. You're in deep—"   


  
"What are they going to do?" Johnson sat on the ground holding his head a little, "Look at what he did to me, Cliff!" He raised an arm to show Cliff the termite shaped holes in his skin, "I can still feel them on me. What are **we** going to do?!"  


  
"That's easy!" Cliff started taking out his walkie-talkie; "We just give the signal prematurely. The other agents will come and teach those punks a lesson!" With that, Cliff turned on his walkie-talkie and gave the signal.  


  


* * * *

  


  
The group came back empty handed all around. Their 10-minute search was a failure. But Secret insisted they look harder for the escapees.  


  
"We have to!" She exclaimed floating above the rest of her teammates, "If they catch them…they might go to the **WABE***! We can't let that happen to them!" (*See Young Justice: The Secret) Secret begged them.  


  
"Listen Suzie, we did all we could, but if we don't want to get caught by the D.E.O we better get out of here." Rob said sternly.  


  
"But, the D.E.O will do horrible things to them! It'll be all our fault!" Secret tried but Rob wouldn't budge.  


  
"I'm sorry, Suzie. But, we can't risk it." Robin whistled for the Super-Cycle as Secret pleaded desperately one last time.  


  
"Please Robin! What will happen to them is far more horrible than-than…we can't leave them!" Tears were beginning to well up in her eyes.  


  
"I'm sorry," He repeated and motioned everybody into the Super-Cycle just as D.E.O agents started to pour out from the forest. "Everybody in! NOW!"  


  
Arrowette, Robin, Superboy, WonderGirl, and Impulse climbed into the Super-Cycle. The alien vehicle took off with a mighty roar as the D.E.O agents yelled from the ground below.  


  
Secret looked back as the agents began to swarm the area ordering an aerial attack to block the escape. She sadly looked away and whispered silently, "I'm sorry." She flew up to get away as fast as she could even though she yearned to stay.  



	6. Part 6: Caution: You May Get Wet!

  
Robin steered the Super-Cycle around the blockades by sharply turning and speeding off in a direction unplanned by the D.E.O. The sudden jerk caused everyone to fly into each other in the back of the Super-Cycle.  


  
"Watch it, Rob! You wanna get us killed!" Superboy yelled whilst being slammed against one side of the Super-Cycle. The sudden escape had nearly caused him to be crushed. "Drive much?!"  


  
"AH!" Arrowette screamed as the sharp turn knocked her out of the vehicle. The sight of Arrowette flying off the Super-Cycle with that look of fear in her eyes brought flashbacks of Superboy's terrifying dream.   


  
"NO!" SB cried whilst he grabbed her by her foot and quickly pulled her back in. Cissie landed directly into Kon's lap the fear still in her eyes. "Are you okay?" He asked with concern.  


  
"Yeah…I think. That just scared me." Arrowette said touching her thudding heart softly.   


  
"Alright," WonderGirl spoke up a little aggravated, "That's enough of that. She's OK!" Superboy shrugged and placed Arrowette beside him gently.   


  
"We could've done something." Secret stared out the back of the Super-Cycle with a glossy glaze over her eyes. "We _should've_ done something." She sighed and looked back at the rest of the gang. Did _any_ of them feel the same way?  


  
"The escapees could've been anything," Robin said matter-of-factly, "They could've been a puddle on the ground, or the dew on the leaves, or even the water on our boots."  


  
"Sorry." A voice said meekly. All of the sudden, the moisture on Arrowette's boots came together and dropped to the floor of the cycle. It then started to form into a person.  


  
"Ah! You perverted puddle!" Superboy exclaimed angrily. The blue puddle soon shaped into the form of a girl. She stood there in her liquid form nervously.  


  
"I'm terribly sorry if I caused you all some aggravation." The girl uncomfortably played with her watery hair and looked down. "I'm also sorry if you feel offended…um…Arrowtey?"  


  
"It's Arrowette." Cissie said a little surprised.  


  
"How did you get in here anyway?" WonderGirl asked hiding a smirk.  


  
"Well," The puddle-girl began softly; "I was hiding in a tree in the forest. I was worried that the D.E.O would find me, so I hid. I feel a little cowardly now, but I was really scared. Suddenly, a boy I didn't recognize flew into the tree. Without thinking I climbed onto him spreading out to seem like little droplets." She rubbed her arm with her liquid blue hand.   


  
"So wait…was that person me?" Bart asked stupidly. That must've meant that the oak wasn't wet at all! It was that girl inside of it! "Wait! Were you the water in the tree?!" The girl looked blankly at him.  


  
"I believe I already answered that. It was me in the tree and you were that boy."   


  
"But, how did you stay on me when I was spinning so fast?" Imp turned his head to the side slightly looking at the weird sapphire female. "I was going really fast! How could you have possibly stayed on?"  


  
"Well, I…uh…I had to…uh…" She stumbled on her words looking away a little, "You see I had to…well…um…had to absorb myself into your…uh…costume."   


  
"Oh, well that's not so ba-" Impulse started when a thought occurred to him. _Hold on, did she mean "inside my suit" or "**inside** my suit"?_ "Did you mean-"  


  
"I'm so happy we found you!" Secret exclaimed interrupting Bart. "I thought we'd left you both behind and were going to get caught by the D.E.O!" She floated over to the girl and circled around her once, "What's you're name? Do you have one? Where's the other one?"  


  
The girl turned to her with a puzzled expression on her face, "A name? The other one? Who's 'the other one'?" Excitement began to grow inside of the girl.  


  
"Yeah," Arrowette spoke up, "We heard that two of you escaped and you both looked the same."  


  
The liquid girl began to get ecstatic as she realized who they were talking about, "My brother?!" She yelled excitedly, "I told him I was breaking out but I never expected him to come with me! I can't-" The sudden exhilaration left her as she remembered the exact words the "mist" girl used. "You…you mean you didn't find him?" The others shook their heads as tears began to fill up in the girl's eyes. "He-he's not with you? What if the D.E.O gets him and brings him back? What if he's lost and he can't find his way out? What if…if…" The girl started to bawl like a small child.  


  
"Calm down. It's OK. We'll find him." Secret tried to calm down the crying girl.  


  
"It's alright," Kon said suddenly being _very_ supportive, "Hey, you can cry on my shoulder if you want." He suggested approaching her.  


  
"If you keep crying like that, you'll cry your whole body away!" The teen speedster quickly dashed SB's romantic influence. "What if you end up crying yourself all over the floor and can't get yourself back together?"  


  
The girl stopped crying suddenly and looked at the boy she had first encountered. "You know, I've never cried before, I don't know what will happen." She thought it over for a minute since she had never even considered it.  


  
"Listen," Robin called finally piping up from the "driver's seat" of the Super-Cycle, "we shouldn't be asking unimportant pointless questions now. We have to get her down to the MedLab and test her for that poison." The others nodded as they sped off toward the Justice Cave.   


  



	7. Part 7: Tainted Liquid

  
"HOW COULD YOU TELL?!" Lutwidge screamed at agent Johnson. Johnson was still getting over the fact that they put bugs on him. Insects, climbing all over his body. It was enough to make his skin crawl. But now, he had failed at his job, and he was going to pay for it…big time. "This is just great! Not only has the subject not been found, but they've gotten away!" Lutwidge put a hand to his forehead and shook his head slowly. "What are we going to do now, huh? HUH, JOHNSON?! This is the second time they've duped us! If it weren't for you we would've—"  


  
"Wait!" Dr. Charles said suddenly, "This may be a good thing after all." Lutwidge and Johnson stared blankly at the man. The D.E.O's members involved with Young Justice's current escape were gathered in a small interrogation area underneath the building. A chair in the center of the room and a bright light shinning over Johnson were the only pieces of furniture in the room. The walls were painted in a peeling light yellow paint with a wooden floor that had at least 20 scuffmarks from the polished boots of the agents that worked there.  


  
"Dr. Charles, what are you yammering about now?" Sighed a very angered Lutwidge. Whatever it was that Dr. Charles had in mind, it had better work. Or else he'd have Johnson's head.  


  
"We've lost subject 2TDNII and subjects 7AHSDD and 6AHSDD, right? Well, I think I may have a way to get all three back." Charles smiled evilly as he looked at Lutwidge's confused expression. Lutiwidge looked from Dr. Charles to Johnson then back to Dr. Charles with a sinister grin upon his face.   


  
"You've got my attention Doctor, what's your plan?"  


  


* * * *

  


  
"Did you ever accidentally drink yourself?" Impulse asked zwipping around the MedLab talking to the new girl impatiently. "If go right through you, will it hurt? What happens if _I_ drink you? Do you die? Do you become inert?"  


  
"That doesn't work in this situation, Imp." Superboy sighed.  


  
"Ok…so what do you eat? Alfalfa? Dirt? Do you evaporate? Do you have to wait till it rains to come back? How can you tell your brother apart from you? If you and your brother combine, will you make a lake? Will you make a HUGE you? Can you control water like Aquaman? Are you AquaGirl? Can you talk to fish? How can we tell that you're a g-" Impulse was cut short by a loud cough from Cassie.  


  
"That's enough questions for now." WonderGirl then turned to Robin, "You got that syringe ready?" Rob made sure the syringe was sterile as he set off toward the liquid girl.  


  
"I don't know if this will hurt." Robin said as he stuck the needle into her "skin".  


  
"I don't feel any pain." She tensed up as the syringe filled with a light blue liquid but relaxed when he removed the syringe now filled with her cerulean "blood". "What are you going to do with that."   


  
"I'm going to see if there was any poison injected into your blood stream" The Boy Wonder squirted the liquid onto a small clear plate and put it under a microscope. "I should have the results in a minute."  


  
"Um, why don't we just _ask_ her if she was being tested on when she escaped?" Impulse suggested. Everyone paused for a moment and look at him.   
"What? OK, I'll ask!" The speedster then turned to the mysterious water-girl, "Were you being tested on when you escaped?"  


  
"No, I was in my room actually." She replied. This made everyone else feel incredibly stupid considering that they hadn't even considered it. Not to mention, Impulse, who was actually 2-years-old had thought of it. "Does that mean my brother has it?!" She asked fearfully.  


  
Robin nodded solemnly putting away the plate with her blood on it. He suddenly began to feel dizzy and weak. He had to grab the table for support as he felt his legs suddenly collapsed from underneath him. Luckily, he caught himself before hitting the ground. Rob then looked up to see if anyone had seen him fall. Everyone seemed to be concentrating on the liquid girl though.  


  
"Oh-oh no!" She bawled. "Is he being hurt? Will he be ok?" The girl weeped into her aqua marine hands.  


  
"Don't worry," Secret floated over to her, "We'll make sure we find your brother. Young Justice is good at that sort of thing. Although, I never found my parents or even if I _had_ any. In fact, I don't even know if I have any siblings. But, I'm sure he's just fine." She insisted, but that didn't seem to stop the girl's incessant sobbing. Suzie felt bad then that she couldn't help that girl feel any better.   


  
"Shhh…it's all right." SB approached her yet again, "I'm here for you."  


  
"You don't want to make her cry more do you?" Bart smirked cruelly, proud of his comment. The girl looked up slowly at the two boys taking her hands off her face. She looked from one of the boys to the other. Just who were they?  


  
"It's okay," He lifted her chin gently so she could look directly into his eyes. "We'll find him, I promise."   


  
"Say, when did you last see your brother anyway?" WonderGirl interrupted the romantic moment quickly. The girl turned around and looked at WonderGirl.  


  
"I had only met him recently by accident. Our rooms were practically next to each other and we would sometimes talk through the wall. One time I was almost able to make it over to the other side but they…they…" She stopped for a minute to resume herself and then continued, "Then, I told him I had to escape. He said that they would be taking him to do experiment and I could go all the way through without them seeing me! They'd be too busy with him. He even said he'd make a big distraction to make sure. That's the only way I got out."  


  
"What chivalry." Arrowette felt bad that the girl's brother was out there somewhere slowly dying and they didn't even know where he was. Cissie was about to speak up again when she noticed someone was missing. "Does anyone know where Robin went?" Everyone looked around to see that Robin had mysteriously disappeared.  


  



	8. Part 8: The Name Game

  
Robin stumbled through the hallways of the Justice Cave holding his head. A horrible pain-filled headache had plagued his head as he fell to his knees. Robin clutched his head in agony when he felt his whole body began to shake violently. He removed one of his hands from his pounding head and held it out in front of him. His hand was quaking so intensely that his fingers seemed to blend together into a green blur. Robin tried to get a hold of himself and think for a minute, but the pain was so unbearable that thinking was out of the question. The back of his head started to burn as if a small star had been implanted in the back of his skull. Tears formed in his eyes as the "star" seemed to grow as if it were trying to burst out of his head. He felt this hate burn in him. This incredible fiery loathing that he wanted to administer on someone. This pure abhorred nature that was blacker than the soul of the villains he fought everyday. He wanted to kill. To hurt. To maim someone and make them feel horrible. As a reward for those treacherous thoughts, the pain loosened its vice upon his brain. The Boy Wonder could think again. But, all his thoughts seemed to come up unpure and evil.   


  
_If Impulse were here, I would shatter his bones. That boy is so annoying it would be a blessing to destroy him._ He thought than quickly counteracted that thought with another one _No! No, I don't want that! I'm thinking like a criminal! What's happening to me? Imp's my friend! I-_ the pain once again growing in his skull interrupted his thoughts. It was as if to punish him for thinking that way.   


  
The world began to spin wildly out of control, as the pain grew more and more unendurable. Robin would've wanted to know what was going on, _would've._ But all he could concentrate on, was the suffering he was experiencing. Just as the immense torment reached its peak, everything went black.  


  


  
"Did you ever have to water a plant with yourself?" Bart asked curiously to the water-girl. The other Young Justice members had gathered around the old JLA table and were having a competent discussion before Bart piped up.   


  
"I don't think she's ever really had that pleasure, Imp." Cassie's eyebrow twitched with annoyance, "But getting back to the conversation, Rob's probably finding out ways to locate your brother or reading up on poisons or something like that." She assured the liquid girl and her group. Although, WonderGirl was mostly trying to assure herself.  


  
"Yeah," Arrowette smiled comfortingly at the girl, "he's probably just fine. So let's all just relax. Now, I don't think we've introduced ourselves properly yet. I'm Arrowette" Arrowette pointed to herself and then looked at WonderGirl.  


  
"Oh! I'm WonderGirl." She smiled at the liquid person and looked over at Secret.  


  
"Huh? Oh, I'm Secret. But, you can call me Suzie if you want." Secret looked over at Superboy.  


  
"Hi I'm Superboy, and you can call me anytime." He grinned slyly. Then he looked over at Impulse who was taping his fingers on the table at super-speed not paying attention. "Ahem…" He coughed a little to get Bart's attention. The speedster barely paid two milliseconds of notice to the cough. "You wanna introduce yourself, Kid Flash?" Superboy smirked evilly knowing that would get Impulse's attention.  


  
"Hey! My name's Bar-Impulse!" Impulse scowled menacingly. The Kid merely beamed smugly.   


  
"It's nice to meet you all," The water-girl was "sitting" in Robin's chair nervously playing with a strand of her "hair". "I really don't have a name. I was never really called anything for a long period of time. But, it was nice to finally know your names."  


  
"That's what it was like for me too." Secret said as she floated over the Aquaman chair as she reminisced, "I didn't have a name but Arrowette gave me the name of 'Suzie'. Maybe we could give you a name!" Suzie suggested excitedly.   


  
"I would like that." The water girl nodded happily.  


  
"Bart!" Impulse jumped to his feet swiftly, "We can call her Bart!" The others sighed.  


  
"Isn't that just a bit egotistical? You're sounding like Kon." Arrowette laughed.  


  
"Ha ha, Cissie."  


  
"But, Bart's a great name! She can be 'Bart II Barry III'! It's perfect!"   


  
"But, she's not a boy and 'Bart' is your name. We'll get you two confused." Cassie shook her head and turned back to the nameless girl. "What about something like…Melony? Or Wendy?"  


  
"We're not going to name her after a fast-food chain. How about…Stormy!" Bart offered.  


  
"That's better than 'Bart', but why Stormy?" SB inquired.  


  
"Cause she's like a puddle! Like, you know, after it rains you get puddles on the ground." Imp explained. The Kid raised an eyebrow at Bart. "Well you called her a 'perverted puddle' before."  


  
"And I am truly sorry for calling you that." He said to the water girl.   


  
"Ok…how about Wada! Like water with a Brooklyn accent! All the people in Brooklyn'll thank us!" The teen speedster looked from one annoyed face to the next. "What?"  


  
"Would someone get him some rubber bands to play with?" Kon asked rolling his eyes.  


  
"How about…Marina?" Wondergirl suggested after thinking for a minute.   


  
"That's a great name, WonderGirl!" Arrowette nodded in agreement.  


  
"I like that name." The newly named liquid person was pleased with her new name.  


  
"We should've called her 'Bar-'" Imp was in the middle of pouting when a loud crash echoed off the halls of the Justice Cave. "Whatwasthat?" He asked that as another loud smash of glass shattering upon the ground ruined the silence of the meeting.  


  
"I dunno…but I'm gonna find out!" Superboy flew up and headed toward where the sound was coming from. The rest of the group followed quickly except for Impulse who was already there. The other 5 arrived to stare agape in horror at the sight before them.   


  



	9. Part 9: Vanquishing the Authority

  
  
  


  
"Do you have to go so soon, Daddy?" Traya asked looking up at Red Tornado (AKA John Smith) with pleading big blue eyes. Red Tornado had been visiting his adoptive daughter in her home when he had to return back to the Justice Cave.   


  
"Daddy, when will I get to see you again?" She hugged Red around his waist and buried her face in his mechanical stomach.  


  
Red Tornado looked down at his adopted daughter sadly. He missed her so much even when he was with her. But, Young Justice needed a parental guardian and he was it. "I do not know Traya," Red put his hand on her head as she started to cry. "I am sure it will be soon, though."   


  
"Daddy," Traya murmured as John stared down at her. "I don't get to see you a lot, Daddy. You always have to go." She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and frowned.  


  
"Traya," Red knelt down to her level and lifted up her chin so they were eye to eye, "you know I must go. I will return, do not worry."   


  
"I understand," She sighed as Red Tornado started to leave. "I love you, Daddy!" Traya called after. Red looked back at her and wished he could stay longer. Maybe even just a few minutes longer. But, he knew he had a responsibility.  


  
"I-I love you too, Traya." With that, he turned away and started to fly toward the Justice Cave reevaluating his actions. _ Perhaps I should have stayed for a little longer…no I cannot. Young Justice needs a parental guardian. Still, I am sure Robin could keep things under control…_  


  


  
"WHOA, ROB! CHILL OUT!" Superboy yelled as a microscope was thrown at his head. The whole group had entered the MedLab to find Robin destroying the place like a savage wild-man. He was throwing test tubes, syringes, and assorted medical equipment around the MedLab in a fit of rage. A test tube rack flew at Cassie as she flew over to grab Rob.  


  
"Calm down Robin!" Cissie called from the doorway with a sleep-gas arrow aimed at Robin. Arrowette had known something was wrong. The way Rob had acted was so unusual…but now he'd gone insane. _This sleep-gas arrow outta help calm him down._ She thought as she aimed the arrow carefully and shot it at Robin.  


  
With inhuman reflexes, the crazy leader jumped out of the way barely landing on top of a file cabinet in time to get away. The sleeping gas arrow hit the floor bursting open filling the room.   


  
"Whoops!" Cissie said a little embarrassed.   


  
"Got it!" Impulse called creating a small whirlwind capturing the gas that had spread in the room and, unfortunately, Secret.   


  
"Im-!" Before Suzie got a chance to complete her desperate cry, she was swept away in the whirlwind and Bart started to take them outside.  


  
"Great," WonderGirl rolled her eyes, "He's a real asset…AH!" A rob-a-rang flew at her head at an increasing pace. Cassie grabbed the rob-a-rang with her hand and threw it to the ground. "Cut it out, Robin! Just calm down! Oh, man…I feel like I'm talking to the dog from Kujo." Rob leapt away as SB struggled to grab him.  


  
"Geez! He's like a deranged rabbit!" Superboy complained as Rob was about to land perfectly on the floor. Robin was faster than usual and still obtained his natural intelligence and grace. He was almost unbeatable. _Almost_. Marina thought as she decided to help them and spread her watery self across the floor to make Rob slip up. As Rob landed, he skidded and slid on the watery floor but still managed to stay on his feet.  


  
"Whoa, he's good…" Arrowette awed as the leader slid toward her. She moved out of the way but shot an arrow with a rope tied to the end making a tight rope across the doorway. Robin would run into it and trip. Then, she would be able to use one of her trick arrows to entrap him. To her surprise, he leapt right over the trap to the other side of the doorway. He made a landing an Olympic gymnast would be jealous of.  


  
"Cripst! He isn't human!" Superboy cried as Robin glared back evilly and threw a gas pellet into the medical room. The gas filled the room causing everyone to cough and wheeze. "I'm getting really sick of this, Rob!" The Kid yelled and flew toward where Robin was last. Suddenly, Robin came from behind him and hit him in the back of the head with a chair. "HA! Your chair is no match for my tactile telek—" Before SB could finish gloating about his you-know-what Rob tossed a gas pellet into his open mouth. Kon gagged and choked as The Boy Wonder elbowed him in the nose sending The Kid to the ground. When the smoke cleared the Kid of Steel lay on the ground unconscious and Robin had disappeared.   


  


  
  
"Ha! Rob thinks he's so great! Well, I got rid of the gas!" Bart celebrated outside the Justice Cave when Secret suddenly reformed.  
"Um, were you aware that I was _in_ that gas cloud?" Suzie hovered over to Impulse.  


  
"You were?! Whoops, well at least you're OK."  


  
"Yes, but shouldn't we get back to the fighting now?" Secret questioned going back inside of the Cave.   


  
"I'm already there!" The speedster cried as he raced into the Justice Cave ahead of Suzie. As he ran he saw Robin running down the halls swiftly. He snatched his leader by the arm and dashed back toward Secret. "Hey!IgotRobwhydon'tyouturnintoasleepinggasorsomethingandknockhimout?!" His words meshed together as he slowed to a stop (well as much of a stop that _Impulse_ could accomplish). Confused a bit at Imp's one-worded sentence, the misty girl hesitated when she saw Robin take out a sharp knife and raise it high into the air. Alarmed, Secret quickly circled around Robin knocking him out cold.   


  
Arrowette rushed out of the MedLab followed closely by Marina to see Robin lying on the ground. Rob was still clutching the knife. Marina looked him over and gasped. "Is he…?" She asked peering over his unconscious body.  


  
"No! He's just 'sleeping'" Impulse said still holding Rob's elbow. Arrowette rushed over to Robin and looked him over. The Boy Wonder looked so innocent lying there. She almost felt sorry for him. But he had just attacked them so viciously that Cissie didn't know what to think any more. All Arrowette knew for certain was that something was wrong. Something was _very_ wrong.  


  
"Where are Superboy and WonderGirl?" Secret asked still floating above Robin incase he woke up.  


  
"They're both in the MedLab. SB was knocked unconscious and WonderGirl offered to stay behind and…uh…watch him I guess." Arrowette replied.  


  
"What now?" Marina inquired obviously concerned. The three other just looked at each other, puzzled.   



	10. Part 10: Impulsive Mishaps

  
Red Tornado landed outside of the Justice Cave and took a deep sigh. He hoped the teenagers hadn't gotten into anymore trouble while he was away. Although, John was sure that if they had gotten into any _serious_ difficulty, Robin would be able to handle it. As he walked in he had a feeling that he was definitely incorrect.  


  
"What are we going to do? Tie him up or something?" A frustrated voice said from inside the cave. This did not look good to Red as he approached the voices. As he got closer the voices got louder.  


  
"Maybe we should lock him in the MedLab. He wouldn't be able to get out then."  


  
"Um..Bart? We just spent about 15 minutes getting him out of the MedLab." Red could hear Arrowette's voice echoing through the halls and started to quicken his steps. John entered the meeting chamber to see a horrific sight:  


  
Robin was lying unconscious on the Justice League table surrounded by Arrowette, Impulse, Secret, and a girl he had not seen before. This stunned Red Tornado for a mere moment when he decided to speak up.  


  
"Excuse me, would one of you mind explaining to me exactly what has happened here?" He asked a little perturbed. The three girls and Impulse turned around quickly in surprise at The Red Tornado's sudden appearance.  


  
"I can explain…" Arrowette began the long story on the events that had recently happened.  


  
"No! I want to explain!" Impulse snapped rudely at Arrowette. She was shocked to see him be so discourteous. But, she decided to let him tell it anyway.  


  
"Geez, fine Imp. Go ahead."  


  
"Well…" Bart began and started explaining the story at a super-fast pace.  
  


* * * *

  


  
"Have you gotten him yet?!" Lutwidge screamed into the walkie-talkie anticipating the reply. He knew that the answer was crucial to the mission. If they had him…they might get a chance to get back subject 2TDNII along with subject 6AHSDD. That is…_if_ the mission succeeded. The walkie-talkie fizzed at Lutwidge defiantly before a voice spoke back.  


  
"Affirmative, sir. We've captured the subject along the side of Route 68. It appears it has fainted out of complete exhaustion. He is currently in our custody, Sir. Over." The voice crackled through the walkie-talkie before clicking off.  


  
"Perfect." Lutwidge grinned widely and awaited the return of the D.E.O's agents.  
  


* * * *

  


  
"So, according to what Arrowette has explained, Robin has suddenly gone insane?" Red Tornado repeated. After Impulse had told the story too fast to compute, Arrowette retold it at a slower pace explaining each detail. This angered Bart, so he had yelled at her. Now, Arrowette had grown suspicious of the speedster. "To add to this complete unexpected event, Superboy is currently unconscious because of Robin. Is that correct?" The three girls nodded while Imp growled to himself murmuring future swear words under his breath.  


  
"Yes," Secret piped up, "It seems he went ultimately crazy with anger." Marina nodded in agreement.   


  
"We were very lucky to catch him in the first place! If it hadn't been for Impulse we probably would never have-" Before Marina had a chance Impulse leapt to his feet and pointed an accusing finger at the four others surrounding the table with the inanimate Robin atop it.  


  
"That's right! If it hadn't been for me, the rest of you would be still chasing after him!" He angrily glared at the others who were staring back in surprise. "I'm the whole reason this team works!" Imp exclaimed. "I'm…I'm…" In the middle of the sentence without warning, he fell backwards and yelped in pain grabbing his head. "AHHHHHHHH!!" He screamed rolling on the ground in utter agony.   


  
"Good Lord!" Arrowette covered her mouth and ran over to the other side of the table to see Impulse had burst out into tears screaming whilst grabbing the back of his head. "BART! BART! Good God! Someone get him to-" She began but, just as soon as the frightening outburst began, it had stopped leaving Impulse on the floor looking like he'd been hit by a truck. As Cissie approached cautiously, Impulse suddenly awoke; his eyes popped open with an inhuman look in them.  


  
"Is he alright?" Suzie asked slowly looking over the tabletop to see Impulse zwip away quickly and start wildly destroying the main area of the Justice Cave.  


  
"This is Déjà vu." Cissie sighed watching Impulse annihilate the items in the meeting chamber.  


  
"Perhaps we should but a stop to this." John stated standing up. "I suggest we-" He began when he was suddenly interrupted when Impulse vibrated through Red Tornado grabbing a bunch of wires and ripping them brutally out of the android causing him to short circuit. Sparks flew out from Red Tornado, as he soon was as inactive as Robin.  


  
"I believe this may cause a bit of a problem." Suzie said watching Impulse break a monitor.  


  
"Yep, this is gonna be a _very_ long night." Cissie prepared an arrow and sighed.  



	11. Part 11: Alls Fair in Love and War

  
"Kon…? Kon? Wake up!" WonderGirl shook an unconscious Superboy inside the MedLab. She really didn't want to keep him there with all the broken glass and horrible mixtures spilt on the floor. But, she couldn't move him very far. Or, at least she was told not to. "C'mon Superboy! Wake up! Oh Zeus!" She groaned and leaned over him.  


  
The Kid was lying on an examining table, out like a light. His recent encounter with Robin had left him inactive for the moment. Normally, he would have been up relatively earlier. But, because of the exhaustion from the past few weeks of sleeplessness, he had no intention of waking up yet.  


  
"Great." WonderGirl sighed unhappily looking at the harmed Superboy. She rolled her eyes and then quickly looked around the MedLab. The only ones there appeared to be Superboy and herself. Cassie could hear the voices of Arrowette and Red Tornado in the meeting chamber. She slowly turned back to SB, who was still motionless on the table. _ This is so perfect. But, this is so rude too I mean what if he wakes up? If I don't do it now though, I may never get a chance. Yeah, but what if he wakes up while I'm in the middle of kissing him? I'll be so embarrassed! Just do it!_ WonderGirl carefully leaned closer to Superboy and kissed him on the lips quickly. She straightened up and looked around to see if anyone had seen her.  


  
"That's about the time when…" Arrowette's voice echoed through the hallways once more. No one had been watching, and no one was there. She let out a sigh of relief and turned back to SB. His eyes were still closed and he was still breathing lightly. WonderGirl leaned over again and this time, she kissed him passionately. The moment seemed to last forever when she suddenly pulled away. _Whoa Cassie! Give him a chance to breathe!_ She looked around again. The room was still empty. Out of nowhere, a loud crashing sound was heard and the tinkling of glass falling to the floor echoed once again.  


  
"What the…?" WonderGirl began and flew out of the MedLab. Cassie got a bad feeling about what she was about to see. She flew out into the main area to witness a wild Impulse run around the room destroying everything in sight. "GREAT HERA!" She exclaimed as she watched Arrowette aim an arrow at the ground. "What's going on here?!" Impulse raced behind her to destroy something over by a few monitors.   


  
"It appears," Marina said from the floor, she had spread herself over the area and had started to speak to WonderGirl, "Impulse is acting the same as Robin did and is going crazy in a fit of rage. Perhaps you could help us get him?"   


  
"Uh…sure. What do I do?" Cassie asked at a loss for words.  


  
"Get ready to knock him out when he slips up on Marina." Cissie shot the arrow onto the puddle that was Marina. The arrow burst open to freeze over the watery surface. Impulse slipped up on the icy floor without even realizing it. He fell flat on his face only to slide into WonderGirl who then turned him over, and punched him out.   


  
"Sorry Bart." Cassie said as she knocked him to the floor. Imp had gone out cold.  


  
"That was pretty good teamwork right then." Arrowette looked down regretfully at Impulse who once again had that hit-by-a-truck look upon his innocent face.  


  
"What do we do now?" Secret asked looking from Red Tornado to Impulse to Robin. "We can't just leave them here."  


  
"We should figure out what's making them go crazy like that." Cassie nodded and picked up Impulse's limp body off the ground. "We better get to the library and use the computer there since this one's only slightly unusable." She looked at the destroyed monitor of the computer screen.  


  
"Good idea." Cissie looked at Marina who was still upon the floor, "Are you alright?" The puddle on the floor was still frozen solid.  


  
"Um, did you guys know if this would hurt her or not?" WonderGirl inquired concernedly.  


  
"She did say she would be OK." Suzie stated staring at the icy water.  


  
"I'll be alright, go on without me. I'll be there soon." The puddle said. "I just need to thaw." The others gave a strange glance but headed off to the library.   


  


* * * *

  


  
"So what have you found out about this…disease." WonderGirl asked flying over to look at the computer screen. The small group had gathered in the library. It was dark and quiet. Like a library should be. But, this silence and darkness was strangely creepy. Arrowette had been toiling over the computer in the library, straining to figure out exactly what they were dealing with. She had been horrified at the entire ordeal. Red Tornado had been taken out of commission so easily and it seemed that many people had done that to him before. Arrowette wished that this had never happened and that they could just go home and get some rest.  


  
Superboy had woke up a few minutes ago and was rudely leaning over her shoulder. It had been a difficult task to figure out what it was, and Cissie had been appreciative of the high-tech equipment she was working with. It was advanced enough to identify the blood sample she had taken from Robin.  


  
The screen flashed a "one minute" message as the others had gone off to talk a bit. WonderGirl, Superboy, and Marina, who had just recently arrived, were waiting for the computer to register the information currently given to it. Arrowette watched the computer screen intently when the message vanished and information suddenly appeared upon the screen. As Cissie scanned the screen, fear washed over her.  


  
"GUYS! I think you better see this!"  



	12. Part 12: Outbreak

  
**Diagnosis:** Blood is infected with NW5   
  
  
**History:** NW5 was recently formed several months ago. It is a toxic chemical that is active in densely watered substances.   
  
  
**Phase 1:** Subject usually experiences bursts of anger and rage. A dizzy, weak, and painful feeling overcomes the subject forcing him/her to collapse.  
  
  
**Phase 2:** Subject loses control of his/her aggression and may have violent tendencies. This phase ends when the subject falls into unconsciousness.  
  
  
**Phase 3:** Subject appears normal and then goes into a series of joint pains causing subject an inability to move without immense suffering.  
  
  
**Phase 4:** Subject experiences pain-filled headaches and excruciating muscle aches.  
  
  
**Phase 5:** Subject dies.   
  
  
**Time span between Phase 1 and Phase 5:** 4 days in human subjects.  


  
**NW5** has been tested on humans for future use in biological warfare. NW5 works effectively within 4 hours of contact with the subject. The disease travels through touch of one being to the next. The process will either speed up or slow down depending on the amount of water in the infected being.  


  
"So wait a min." Superboy spoke up staring at the screen. "If a human's about, what, 80% water? Then what can have more water than…" He trailed off turning behind a little and looked at Marina. "Oh." SB turned back to the monitor feeling sorry for Robin and Impulse right then.  


  
"Do…do you think they did that test on my brother?" Marina asked a worried look in her crystal eyes.  


  
"I don't think the D.E.O would do anything that would make their 'wards' die." Arrowette murmured.   


  
"Yes, they would." Secret shuddered remembering that part of her dark past.  
"What are we going to do 'bout Rob and Imp?" Superboy inquired cutting the tension.   
"How did they get it?" WonderGirl thought hard to herself whilst leaning against Arrowette's chair.  


  
"I don't know how _Robin_ got it," Secret began, "but, I do know how Impulse got it. When we were on our way back to the MedLab, he grabbed Robin by his elbow. That's when Impulse's fingers touched Robin's skin." The girls nodded when they heard a loud curse word by Kon. They looked at him with a curious stare on their faces.  


  
"I think I might have got it while we were all fighting in the MedLab." Superboy stood there a little in shock at what he said.   


  
"Yeah!" Cassie exclaimed replaying the battle in her head, "After Robin threw that gas pellet in your mouth, he elbowed you in the nose." Suddenly, WonderGirl realized what had happened _after_ Kon went out and she was alone with him. "And I've got it too." She muttered.  


  
"What?" Arrowette question suspiciously, "How did you get it?"  


  
"Just, don't ask." Cassie turned away leaving the others confused.  


  
"What if I have it too?" Marina looked very fearful at Cissie. "Impulse slipped up on me! What if he touched me with his skin?"  


  
"It's a very good chance that we're _all_ infected! Except Secret. We should all probably take a blood test. We have about 4 hours, right?"  


  
"What if after the disease got into Impulse, it became mutated?" WonderGirl placed her fist underneath her chin and tilted her head to the side. "I think it has happened with other sicknesses. The virus could have become mutated by Impulse's blood. His super-fast metabolism or whatever could speed up the infection. I mean, he came in contact with Robin only an hour or two ago before he started going crazy." This thought scared the rest deeply.  


  
"If that's true," Marina started, "that means me and Arrowette, if I passed it to her, are in the most risk. If I have it, I got it from Impulse."  


  
"Listen," The Kid butted in, "First things first. We gotta check to see if we even have it. I'm pretty sure I do. I don't know about Cassie or the rest of you, but I say we better test first." They nodded in agreement. Secret volunteered to get the needles from the MedLab.  


  
  


* * * *

  


  
"Do you think he'll make it, Doctor?"  


  
"I don't know, nurse. It's borderline in this case." The voices of a nurse and doctor hovered lightly in the air above the boy's head. He could hear them. He knew the sound of their voices. He had heard them as he came in.   


  
The two of them had been there for a few minutes as far as he knew. He had been slipping in and out of consciousness for the past couple of hours hearing tidbits of conversation from the visitors in his hospital room. Sometimes though, sometimes there was nothing at all. Just silence. It wasn't entirely quiet. A hospital never is. He could hear the sounds of nurses scuffling through the halls with medicine carts or rolling some poor person in a wheelchair or just flipping through their charts. The intercom was going on and off constantly. It spewed names of doctors he didn't know…and probably would never know.   


  
He wanted to scream. He wanted to scream so badly. All he could do was think. Think about his friends and family and the incident. He could remember it so clearly. He could see his legs walking along the street in his mind's eye. He could hear himself whistling so happy and carefree. He watched himself turn the corner. In his mind, he observed the shock on his face as he watched two gangs shooting it out. Guns blaring, horrible screams, and hate, that's all he could remember.   


  
He thought about his family. Would he ever see his mother or his father again? _What about my friends?_ He thought to himself. _Will I ever see Bill or John again? Or what about Rachel? Or Tim? Why hasn't Tim come?_ Depressing thoughts entered his brain. _He's probably too busy for me. We were close too. I wonder if he visited me when I was asleep. He helped me when my Mom was in the hospital. But what about when I'm in the hospital? I wonder if I can hear him before I…_His thoughts drifted off as he slipped back into unconsciousness. 


	13. Part 13: Cruel and Unusual Punishment

  
The D.E.O was unusually quiet that night. Strangely and terrifyingly silent. All that could be heard was the small cries of a few "wards" of the D.E.O. The lights flickered on and off at times. A loud screaming sound was heard. Like the sound of a boy crying in pain. The lights flickered again. The scream was heard once more. Then, nothing but silence echoed throughout the halls of the department.  


  
Lutwidge grinned looking down at a boy curled up in pain shivering intensely. "He should tell me what I want to know now." The boy closed his eyes and shuttered as Lutwidge glared at him sinisterly.   


  
"I-I won't t-tell." He stuttered gripping his arms with all his might resisting the formula given to him. "I-I'm n-not g-going to tell you!" He exclaimed as an outburst of pain shot through his body. The horrid agony was nearly unimaginable. Beads of sweat formed on his watery brow. He was barely keeping his liquid form together.  


  
"But you must tell." Lutwidge paced around the container with the subject 7AHSDD shaking inside of it. "Do you even _remember_ what happened after you went unconscious?"  


  
The boy shook his head and clutched himself tighter as pain gripped his whole body in a tight fist. It hurt to move and to talk. It was almost impossible for him to do so. But he held on. Forcing him to stay awake. He closed his eyes tightly and wondered exactly why he wouldn't tell him. All he knew was that he shouldn't tell.  


  
"You went on a rampage!" Lutwidge yelled at the boy cringing on the floor. "You don't know how many people you could've infected!" He raised his hands to the sky. In reality, 7AHSDD hadn't touched anyone, as far as they had seen. They had watched him since he went mad, but before then was a blank. 7AHSDD knew that other piece of the puzzle. It was extremely important if he infected anyone else. It could turn into a worldwide epidemic if they didn't get it under control now. "Tell me how you escaped. Tell me what happened." He raised up a small electrical device.  


  
Fear touched his very heart staring at the machine. "I-I…w-won't!" The electrical device was turned on and the boy prepared himself for the pain soon to come. The lights flickered as the device was used upon the child. He whimpered and shook wishing there were some way he could escape. But, the container was locked up tighter than a bank vault. The walls were too high to get out, the apparatus turned on circuits that made the entire cage electrify.  


  
"Now, how did you get out of the building?" Lutwidge stood over him turning on the electrical device again. 7AHSDD struggled against the truth serum but it was no use.   


  
"O-OK…I'll tell you what you need to know." A weak defeated voice came from an unidentifiable face.  


  
"Good boy." Lutwidge smirked demonically as the boy began to stutter whilst he spoke.  


  
"I-I had just gotten out t-to take that test. I knew that w-whatever you guys put into me, it was bad. That's why I-I jumped on that s-scientist guy. T-Then-"  


  
"Stop your stuttering!" Lutwidge snapped standing high above the shivering child. "Now continue."  


  
"Then that guy ran out into the hallway with me on him. He got really scared for some reason. Whatever you put in me must have scared him pretty bad. Then, I heard the alarm start to sound and I got off him. I climbed up the wall and—" He struggled again trying to beat out the serum. He clenched his teeth and tried his hardest to fight it.  


  
Lutwidge turned on the small gadget and used again upon the boy. The child screamed in pain and tears ran down his cheeks. He lay limp upon the floor slightly twitching every now and then praying to be left alone. "Finish the story," Lutwidge coldly held the device in his fist, ready to press it at a moments notice. Shallow breathing came from the boy's throat as he coughed up some water upon the floor. He wanted to plead mercy and beg them to stop. But, there was no pity in the D.E.O, not with Lutwidge anyhow.  


  
"I crawled into the air vents." He sputtered. He continued fearing the gizmo in Lutwidge's sweaty mitts, "I noticed the exits were all blocked off and I couldn't escape. I could only cause a few distractions for my sister to get out."  


  
"That's how she escaped." Lutwidge muttered.  


  
"I stayed up there for hours knowing one of you would get me. You'd find me. Suddenly, I saw someone crawling around in the air vents."  


  
"Who was it?" Lutwidge asked quickly.  


  
"I-I'd never seen him before. He wore a green and red suit with a long black cape. He had a green mask on and he had black hair." The boy stopped and took a deep breath.   


  
"Robin." Lutwidge concluded. "Tell the rest of it. Now!"  


  
"Since the air vents were already wet from the air conditioner, he didn't notice when I got on him. He was already soaked from crawling around up there. I think, I think he spied on you guys and left. He left on some weird vehicle I hadn't seen before and I got off him when he was moving along this black ground and—" He was cut short by a powerful electric burst coming from the cage. He howled in pain and fell unconscious.  


  
"Good boy. That's all I needed to hear."   


  
  


* * * *

  


  
"What are the results Cissie?" WonderGirl flew over to Arrowette. "Good news?" Arrowette shook her head sadly.  


  
"I'm 'fraid not Cass." She frowned and pointed to the screen which read: "Diagnosis: Infected with NW5." The information they had read before crossed the screen evilly. "I'm afraid you, Kon, and Marina got it. Secret and I are uninfected."   


  
"Oh Zeus." WonderGirl moaned unhappily.  


  
"How did you get infected, Cassie?" Arrowette inquired.  


  
"Well..." Cassie began when The Kid interrupted her.  


  
"This is a lot more serious than we think, you guys." SB was leaning back in a chair near Arrowette. "It's not _Oh shoot we're going to go bonkers._ That isn't all folks. We are going to _die_ unless there's a cure. But, I didn't see any in that file, did you? Didn't think so."  


  
"Oh man it's already changing Kon!" Cassie shook her head slightly, "Even though, he has a point. We are officially messed up. We have, what, four days to live?" They all thought about it for a minute. _Great Cass,_ WonderGirl thought to herself,_ just depress everyone, that is just what they needed!_   


  
"I don't think some of us are that lucky." Cissie said scrolling down the computer screen.  


  
"What's wrong?" Secret asked floating over to the screen. Arrowette appeared fearful and saddened as she looked back at the four others who's concerned expressions made Cissie feel worse.  


  
"It's Bart. He only has one day to live." Arrowette hid a tear away as the others mouths dropped open in shock. The sorrowful moment was cut short when they heard the videophone ring downstairs. "Wait, didn't Bart trash all the monitors?" They all looked at each other and ran carelessly off to the meeting chamber.  


  
When they arrived, a lone monitor in the midst of the other destroyed ones, blinked to be answered. They looked at one another with confused eyes. _To think he missed just one monitor. That was lucky or planned._ Arrowette skeptically thought to herself. It blinked and Superboy approached the monitor and noticed the destroyed keyboard.   


  
"How am I gonna answer it?" He shrugged and tried to press the "Except" key. It seemed futile, but he tried anyway. Miraculously, the call was answered. Superboy was surprised not only that the call had somehow made it through, but at the man on the screen.   


  
"I have a proposition for you." Lutwidge grinned maniacally at the dumbfounded young heroes.  



	14. Part 14: Rude Awakenings

p>  
Robin lay upon the table in the library eyes shut in pain. Suddenly, his eyelids batted slowly as he awakened. Blurred vision came to the young hero as he squinted in the darkness. Robin's shoulder ached as if it had been yanked harshly. He grunted and bared the pain as he heard faint talking from somewhere. Rubbing his eyes, Robin leapt off the table and as he landed, his foot began to throb. He looked down with fuzzy sight to notice something was caught in his boot. Crouching down to take a closer look, he rubbed his eyes once more and saw a large piece of glass was sticking barely out of his boot. Upon closer investigation, Robin noticed the glass had obviously been shoved in forcefully. He carefully broke off the small piece of glass sticking out and slowly took off his boot. It pained the Boy Wonder to do so. Finally getting it off Robin saw the shard of glass was jostled quite deeply into the side of his foot leaving blood trickling out of the wound. Rob grasped the shard gently and pulled in out quickly. He winced when he did this and observed the large bloody shard. The shard had obviously come from some piece of medical equipment. He looked around the library in wonderment as he bandaged the wound using materials from his utility belt. _How did I get here? Did I crawl here in all the pain? How'd I get on the table? What happened?_ Before the train of questions could continue a loud yell stopped it in its tracks.  


  
"You CAN NOT be serious!" An enraged Kon-El could be heard echoing down the empty hallways. Robin suspected that he had been out for a while and that they had moved him here. He swiftly returned the boot to his foot. Rob knew it was foolish to do so, but it was better if his foot had some sort of protection anyway. He passed Impulse lying on a table close by. Pausing for a moment he noticed a large black eye forming on his face. Upon closer observation, he realized that WonderGirl had administered the blow. Bart was curled up and crumpled upon the table as if he fell off a 10-story building. Pity filled the Boy Wonder at the moment. Robin couldn't help but be curious on why they hadn't taken Impulse and himself to the MedLab. The whole ordeal just kept getting stranger and stranger.  


  
"What the * is with you?" (* Insert swear) Superboy yelled at the D.E.O agent upon the screen. "You're * crazy, Lutwidge!" (* Insert another curse word).  


  
"I don't believe you should be speaking to me like that Superboy. After all, I am the only person who can save Robin." Lutwidge glared at the irate Superboy.   


  
"Let me get this straight," Arrowette scowled at the screen, "If we give you Secret, you'll give us the cure?"  


  
"That's right. But I also want subject 6AHSDD too." Lutwidge crossed his arms smugly. The others looked a little blankly at each other.  


  
"Does he mean Marina?" WonderGirl whispered.  


  
"Duh." SB pointed a finger to his head but then suddenly stopped, "Sorry Cass."  


  
"That's ok, I wasn't thinking." WonderGirl said. _Just confirm that you were a moron…_  


  
"Do we have a deal?" Lutwidge questioned from behind them.  


  
"You are sick! Sick, sick, sick! How can you expect us to make such a choice! It doesn't matter what we choose! Someone's going to die!" Arrowette pointed an accusing finger at the figure upon the screen.   


  
"Listen you little punks!" Lutwidge growled grinding his teeth a little, "You took subject 2TDNII and subject 6AHSDD. Now, we can make a simple trade, or you'll be without a leader and I'll be without a job. I can wait. You can't. You have one hour to make your decision. I'll be waiting." With that, the man disappeared from the monitor leaving them in silence.   


  
"This sucks." Cassie said simply glaring at the screen. The others could only stand there pondering what to do next.   


  
Secret hovered silently above everyone, she knew they'd never give her back to them. They were her friends after all. But, it was going to be a lot harder to trick the D.E.O this time. They'd be expecting a double cross so they'd be extra careful. The D.E.O knows now that they cannot trust Young Justice and they'll check the container if they give one to them this time. She didn't know what she'd do. In this case, she was the bargaining chip in this game. If Secret didn't go, this could mean everybody's life! She could sacrifice herself and get the cure for them, but would Marina do it too? Suzie wondered if she would be able to give up her life for them. Would she be brave enough?  


  
"Are…are we going to die?" Marina meekly asked. She had tried to be as quiet as possible. She knew she had been a burden upon them since she got there. If only she could do something for them to repay their kindness. Maybe, just maybe…if she immolated herself, it'd be enough. But, they had spent all that hard work trying to save her and she had spent all those hours trying to be free! How could she throw it all away? There had to be another way out.  


  
"Nobody's going to die." A voice came from the other side of the room. The five of them turned around to see Robin walking into the room, hiding a limp.  


  
"Robin!" They cried all at once.  


  
"About time you woke up!" WonderGirl glared angrily at him.  


  
"Sorry to keep you waiting, WonderGirl." Robin looked back to the rest of the members, "Now, I'm going to need to know everything that has happened since I was out. Tell me everything you can about NW5 and who's infected besides WonderGirl and Kon." No one asked how he had known that. They all knew. The World's Greatest Detective had trained him.  


  
"Ok, this is what happened…" WonderGirl started.  


  


* * * *

  


  
Dr. Charles marched down the hallways of the D.E.O and bumped straight into Lutwidge. Dr. Charles stumbled back and looked at whom he had run into. Lutwidge stood there, a smug glimpse in his eyes as he looked back at Dr. Charles. "Lutwidge," An Annoyed Dr. Charles growled at the man standing before him, "You can't use such harsh methods on our subjects! Subject 7AHSDD could've died with the method you used on him!" He yelled irately at his partner.   


  
"Doctor, please. I'm handling the situation as according to plan." Lutwidge began but was stopped short by an angry shout by the doctor.  


  
"I don't know what plan your following, Lutwidge! But it's not mine! I did not order you to electrify that child to the edge of death!" Dr. Charles an annoyed glare filled his aged brown eyes. Lutwidge just smiled down at the doctor and shook his head slightly.  


  
"Dr. Charles, you must understand that subject 7AHSDD has caused us more problems then almost any of the other subjects. He even has endangered the life of one scientist and even one person outside the D.E.O." Dr Charles looked shocked and leaned in forward to hear the rest. Lutwidge continued, "As you are quite aware doctor, we can't have subjects like these that cause so much trouble. I'm afraid we are going to have to send him to the WABE. After all," He cracked another sinister smile, "I'm only preparing him for the worst." With that, the two D.E.O agents walked down the hall for further discussion on the matter. If they had been a little more careful, if they had seen where they were exactly standing, they probably wouldn't have said a word at all.  



	15. Part 15: Many Happy Returns

  
Database rebooting…systems accruing to normal status quo…scanning for feasible virus entry… conclusion: none…rebooting audio…commencing audio enhancing…complete.  


  
"How's it coming Rob?"  


  
"He'll be back online any moment now." Voice identification…Superboy…Robin. Visuals accruing…commencing visual enhancement…complete. Red Tornado's visuals blinked on to see Robin leaning over him smiling. A quick scan of the room viewed most of the members of Young Justice were there excluding Impulse.   


  
"Arrowette, would you be as kind to inform me of what has recently occurred here?" Red Tornado asked looking beyond Robin and slowly climbing to his feet. As far as Red Tornado knew, Robin had been unstable and could possibly go insane again. Although, he seemed to have recently performed some repairs on him. He awaited an answer curiously.   


  
"We don't have time to explain this to Red." WonderGirl stated pacing nervously around the room. "We need to go!"   


  
"WonderGirl's right," Robin said turning to the his teammates, "You best get going. Red, you will stay here with me, Marina, and Bart."   


  
"Where will the others be?" Red Tornado questioned concernedly.  


  
"Cissie, SB, Suzie, and I will be going to the D.E.O about now! I hate to sound like Bart but let's get going already." Cassie complained crossing her arms in worry.  


  
"I do **not** sound like that!" Impulse stuck out his tongue rudly. His sudden appearance had startled everyone.  


  
"As the parental gaurdian of this team it would be vital that I know of what reason you are-" Before Red Tornado had a chance to finish his sentence, Bart (as predicted), spoke up.  


  
"Why are we going to the D.E.O? Weren't you insane Rob? Why do I have a black eye?"   


  
"I'll explain this all in a minute," Robin said gritting his teeth a little, "why don't you four go. We'll keep in contact via headset. OK?"  


  
_Not OK!_ Marina glared at Rob. _I can't just stay behind! I was so lucky that I got to escape, it's not fair to everyone else that's trapped there. Maybe…maybe I can help them. While Young Justice gets the cure, I'll free the others! It'll even create a distraction!_ Marina crafted the plan in her head as the four others started to leave. _No! I have to go with them…how am I gonna…_  


  
"We better not go by Super-Cycle. Too noisy. We'll just fly there. Hey Cissie, I'll carry ya." Superboy offered.  


  
"Why do _you_ want to carry her?" WonderGirl asked crossing her arms aggravated.   


  
"Well," Secret started, "its just Superboy is practically covered head to toe. It'd be harder for Arrowette to get infected if he carried her than if you did."  


  
"I doubt that's the reason." WonderGirl muttered under her breath as she glared at Superboy.  


  
"We ready to go?" Arrowette asked looking around the chamber. The three nodded and they took off toward the entrance of the cave. Little did they know that as they had their travel discussion, a small puddle of water decided to join their journey.   


  


* * * *

  


  
"Are you sure they aren't going to just take the solution, Sir?"  


  
"I would say yes, Cliff, but they might not be in the right mind. Are the agents set up?"   


  
"They're in position, Sir." Cliff stood at attention in the presence of Lutwidge.   


  
"Excellent. I want frequent perimeter checks and make sure the tower guards are awake this time." Lutwidge paced around the room tensely. The night had dragged on like no other he had ever experienced. The darkness loomed over the D.E.O as a premonition yet to come. Not even the moon would shine on that night.   


  
The forest around the D.E.O barely made a noise. As if the entire life of the woods had been sucked out. The only sound that escaped from the dark forest was the occasionally perimeter check and the crunching of the dried leaves beneath the agents feet.  


  
A lone agent shivered in the midst of the obscurity. His hand was frequently quaking as he crouched low in the bushes knowing they would be no protection from his mistake. A chance. One last chance to prove himself to his co-workers. To Lutwidge. To himself. The humiliation of his recent screw-up had scarred agent Johnson. There was no life for him outside the D.E.O's walls. Not for him. This last chance is all he needs. If he were to get in favor of Lutwidge, he might just keep his job.   


  
Fog circled around his ankles as he starred up into the bleakness of the night's sky. His sight began to fail him as fog enclosed. Johnson swallowed a large lump in his throat and reported back to the main control. "Sir? We may have a problem out here…"   



	16. Part 16: In The Mist of The Shadows

  
The fog thickened in the night as the four heroes headed for the D.E.O. The silence was as thick as the mist around them. The weather conditions would provide the perfect cover for Young Justice to easily sneak into the facility. WonderGirl flew silently over the trees, roads, and houses that passed swiftly beneath her. Something didn't feel right. Something was a miss in the air. She couldn't quite put her finger on it.  


  
It got harder and harder for Superboy to see through the solid fog. He was still lagging slightly behind Secret and WonderGirl. He really wished he had gotten some more sleep. _Great. Just Great. As if Hawaii wasn't enough trouble, I have to get infected with a psychopathic deadly disease! This has not been a good month for me._ He shook his head and continued to fly further into the haze.  


  
Horrible thoughts of capture plagued Secret's head as they approached the upcoming woods. That's where it had all began to Secret. That's where they had found Marina in the first place, in the woods that they kept getting closer and closer to. Trying to concentrate on the situation, the fog would provide a good cover-up in case the guards were awake, but it was so thick it was almost like trying to see through a wall.  


  
Arrowette squinted into the blankets of clouds that encircled the team. Seeing was next to impossible and she didn't even know if they were going the right way. She shuddered as the thought of death crept into her head. Her friends were going to die. Not her. But her friends. _No!_ Arrowette defiantly thought _I'm not going to let them die!_   


  
"I can't see **anything!**" Superboy complained as he flew ahead of the girls, "I can barley see my hand in front of my face nevertheless a tree!" He groaned nearly slamming into a large maple. "How are we even supposed to find the D.E-" Before Superboy could finish he smashed into quite a solid concrete wall headfirst. "Oh…"  


  
Superboy dropped Arrowette upon contact with the wall. Cissie landed safety on her feet. WonderGirl couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the situation.  
"Nice flying SB!" WonderGirl laughed as Superboy flew back down.   


  
"Arrowette, WonderGirl, Superboy, can you hear me?" Robin's voice came from their headphones.   


  
"Yeah we can hear you." Arrowette said holding back a giggle.  


  
"What just happened? Why are you laughing?" Impulse's voice could be heard in the background along with the sound of Red Tornado letting out an exasperated sigh.  


  
"No reason really," WonderGirl chuckled, "SB just had a close encounter of the 'concrete' kind."   


  
"Very funny." Superboy grumbled something about his shoes being wet.  


  
"Okay, now that we've had a good laugh, you're in front of the wall to the D.E.O right?"   


  
"Yeah"  


  
"OK, chances are Lutwidge is anticipating your arrival. You guys have the cover of the fog on your side, can you see the D.E.O?" He inquired through the headphones. WonderGirl nodded at her teammates and floated up stealthily to peek over the wall.  


  
The haze was thick. So thick that all WonderGirl could see was a blank canvas, as if the whole world had disappeared beneath a quilt of gray. Squinting hard in the unbelievable density of the clouds. _Not even the D.E.O could see through this fog!_ She thought as she squinted even harder into the bleakness. WonderGirl could make out the silhouette of the building a head of her. She flew back down to her teammates slowly.  


  
"The building's dead a head, about 20 feet or so." WonderGirl reported back using her own rounded judgement and the memories from their other trip inside the D.E.O.  


  
"All right, here's what I want you to do…"  


  
  


* * * *

  


  
Johnson slowly sipped some water out of a canteen he had brought with him in case he was thirsty. The fog had thickened so badly that he might as well of been staring into cement. Wiping some sleep from his eyes he squinted out of the bush. His surroundings were barely visible. He peered down at the canteen clutched in his hand. Only the outline of the small container could be seen by the naked eye. Frustrated, Johnson was prepared to send a complaint back to Lutwidge. How would he ever see any intruders without being able to see his own canteen? Fear grasped Johnson by the heart when he remembered how his job was already hanging in the balance.   


  
Johnson didn't know what would happen to him out there. Out in the cruel world that he'd heard so much about. His job was his life. How would he live without it? He wasn't sure, but an even more terrifying thought crossed the young man's mind. _What if they kill me?_ The very pit of fear in his stomach was breached upon this recognition. Suddenly, he heard a crashing noise slightly behind him. Turning around quickly, Johnson barley made out a few figures in the vagueness. He could hear some voices and he moved closer.   


  
"Nice flying SB!" Johnson heard one of the voices chuckle. A twang of exhilaration was trigged in his stomach when he realized it was probably the Young Justice kids coming in. Just like Lutwidge had said they might. Quickly whipping out his walkie-talkie he fiddled with the buttons in the dimness. As he finally was able to turn it on he wondered _what if after I tell them…they kill me for my mistake?_ But just as soon as he asked himself that question, he answered it assuring that the only way he'd survive is if he told Lutwidge. Nodding to himself he silently turned on the talk button.   


  
"Lutwidge, Sir?" Johnson whispered crouching low in the prickly bush.  


  
"Johnson? You better have good news or-" Lutwidge's voice crackled through the walkie-talkie.  


  
"Sir, Young Justice is headed your way." Johnson whispered again, his mouth as close to the speaker as possible.  


  
"Perfect."   


  



	17. Part 17: Don't Go Chasin' Waterfalls

  
Red Tornado paced worriedly in the Justice Cave. The mission Young Justice was on was a dangerous one. He knew Robin's expert leadership skills would certainly give the team an excellent chance, but for some reason, he had doubts.  


  
Impulse constantly zwipped back and forth between to monitor and anything else that was even the slightest bit entertaining. Although Robin had asked him several times to stop, Impulse continued anyway. After all, Bart has never been one to listen. Whenever Bart had returned to the monitor, it greeted him with a fuzzy staticy picture. It was barely clinging onto life, it didn't have too long until it lost its picture.   


  
"Why is the picture so messed up?" Bart inquired circling the meeting area impatiently. Robin gritted his teeth with a bit of annoyance, it was getting harder and harder to keep in touch with his teammates on the other end and they were running out of time.   


  
"The monitor was almost destroyed so it isn't working all that well at the moment." Robin said as the fuzzy picture dimmed in and out.  


  
"Wonder who tried to destroy it?" Bart wondered. Red Tornado sighed and shook his head.  


  
"How are things progressing?" John queried walking over to Robin's side.   


  
"They're in the complex, they're making their way in pretty well." He responded, his eyes fixated upon the screen. "Last I heard, they were making their way through the air vents over the lounge. There are still many 'subjects' incarcerated in the D.E.O." A loud yelp jolted the Boy Wonder from his concentration. Impulse was standing in front of the superman chair, a look of pain upon his innocent face.   


  
"Ow! Owowowowowowowowowow! It hurts!" He cried rubbing his legs and arms at the same time.   


  
"It must be phase 3!" Tim remembered the words he saw upon the screen when he woke up in the library: _Subject appears normal and then goes into a series of joint pains causing subject an inability to move without immense suffering._ Pity filled the Boy Wonder's heart as he watched his friend in so much pain. "Hang in there, Bart. You're gonna be all right. Just try to not move for a little while OK?" The speedy teenager's eyes looked up at Robin with fear. "Just try."  


  
"Robin, hey Rob? Are you still there?" WonderGirl's voice crackled through the headset snapping Rob back to the case at hand.   


  
"Yeah…yeah. Where are you guys?" He asked listening intently.  


  
"We're over above…uh…I don't know."   


  
"What do you mean you don't know?" Robin inquired in an annoyed tone.  


  
"She means," Arrowette started, "Kon must've taken a left when he should've taken a right!" The headset crackled and fizzed in Robin's ears and the monitor began to blink off. From the darkening screen, the Boy Wonder figured out their location best he could.   


  
"Okay, you guys are headed toward a dead end. Back up until you find the last intersection, then take a left." He commented as the screen finally shorted out and died. Robin could only hope that they could find their way through the rest of that maze only using his memory.   


  
"Thanks Rob."  


  
"You know." An annoyed Superboy growled, "Not _everything_ is my fault!"  
Robin shook his head and smiled slightly. He could hear Secret start talking softly in the background.  


  
"Maybe I should lead from now on." She softly spoke, "I have done this before." Robin heard the others agree and Kon regretfully give up his position as the leader. _Leader._ Robin thought _Some leader I am. They're all headed into this sick and tired and knowing that this may be their last chance to save their own lives. And mine. Bart only has a day to live, if they don't succeed in this mission…_ He sighed and looked at Impulse who was whining about how it hurt so much. _What if WonderGirl was right?_ Tim wondered remembering what WonderGirl had told him before. _What if Impulse's blood mutated the disease. That means Marina is in more trouble than we…where is she?_ A quick scan of the Justice Cave's meeting chamber revealed Marina was no where in sight.   


  
"Uh-oh." Robin quickly tried to establish contact with his friends in the D.E.O. "Superboy? Arrowette? WonderGirl? Secret? Is Marina with you?" He asked urgently. After a few minutes of crackling a voice broke through.  


  
"Um…no, we thought she was with you." Robin shuddered. Where was she? Rob remembered the way Marina had glared at him when he divided up the teams. They hadn't seen her since he had said that. He turned to Red Tornado.   


  
"I have a feeling she's with the others."   


  
"Ya want me to get her?!" The impulsive teen jumped up excitedly when suddenly a shot of pain ripped through his legs. "YEOW!"  


  
"No. I could get there by the Super-Cycle, but if I went I could risk infecting other people accidentally." Rob spoke into the headset, "WonderGirl, Marina snuck along with you guys. I need you to find her and get her out of here, fast. She could go crazy at any time. We can't let those people get hurt or infected." He paused. "WonderGirl?"  


  
"Uh…Rob? We have bigger problems" The headset crackled and a loud crash could be heard as the crackling came to an abrupt stop.  



	18. Part 18: Decisions, Decisions

  
He crept silently through the darkness feeling his way through carefully. He could hear the cries of the entrapped "wards" echoing through the vents. A cold icy feeling trickled down his spine. He moved silently on his way sliding over the cold, smooth surface as a slight breeze blew past him. An intersection seemed to stare him in the face. He peered down the left way wincing in pain. His whole body ached as he made his way left through the pitch-black tunnel. Suddenly, a bright light beamed from below him. Peeking over, he saw the lights of many consoles, monitors, and temperature gauges blinking numbers and letters. The Main Control room.   


  
A lone guard sat in a comfortable looking office chair sitting straight up. His back was parallel to the back of the chair, his eyes were fixated on the screen, and his hand was nervously twitching above a gun in his holster; it was easy to tell the man was nervous. Sweat drops crawled down his young face as he twittered.   


  
He slid from the air vent to the floor below without a sound. Creeping slowly behind, he clutched his leg in agony. He stifled a cry and continued forward toward the guard. He wondered to himself if what he was going to do was right. He wondered why he was doing it at all. He just swallowed the lump in his throat and continued.  


  
The guard's nervous nature caused him to look slowly behind him. His eyes grew wide as he saw a figure standing behind him in the shadows. The guard whipped around quickly holding his gun shakily in his hand. The figure in the shadows stopped, it's arms raised in an odd position.   


  
"W-who's there?!" The guard demanded pointing the gun at the figure's chest. He kept his eyes focused on the figure as it lowered its arms slowly. The guard then shakily grabbed his flashlight and turned it on in the figure's "eyes".  


  
The light shined brightly on the figure's blue watery skin and reflected right back at the guard. The figure's eyes were practically just dark patches of blue in his barley-defined face. His whole body was only slightly detailed by barely different shades of blues. Depths are hardly distinguished by slight curves in his small child body.   


  
"An escapee!" The guard quickly grabbed for his walkie-talkie dropping the flashlight and still aiming the gun for the water boy's "heart". The small pistol shook in his sweaty hand. The boy shook his head sadly and finally spoke.  


  
"That won't do you any good." He shyly whispered just barely loud enough for the guard to hear.  


  
"O-oh really?" The man stuttered still fiddling with the small walkie-talkie.   


  
"Afraid not. They'll never come to help you." The boy slowly slid over to the chair the guard was sitting in, a gun following him there. "They're too busy taking care of the problem upstairs." The boy poked the monitor screen, which displayed a picture of scores of agents rushing out to an unknown area. "They won't come."   


  
The guard stopped in the horrible realization that the boy was right. The trouble upstairs would exceed the problems he was having at that moment. He dropped his walkie-talkie and it clattered to the linoleum floor below. He grabbed the gun with both hands and pointed it straight at the water kid's head.  


  
"That's not going to help either." The boy said sadly reaching his hand behind him grabbing the office chair.  


  
"I-it will sure make m-me feel better!" The guard got ready, pulling back on the trigger slightly.   


  
"I'm sorry." The boy lifted the chair quickly over him and brought it down swiftly on top of the guard's head. The guard fell to the ground harshly, knocked out cold. A trickle of blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. "I am really sorry."  


  


* * * *

  


  
"Well I see you've come for our deal a little early." Lutwidge grinned evilly at the four Young Justice members surrounded by D.E.O agents. The room was packed with so many it would be impossible to take them all down. "Although I doubt that's what you really can here for."   


  
WonderGirl growled angrily at the agents who stood ready with guns pointed directly at their heads. She stood back in a ready position in case anyone had an itchy trigger finger.  


  
"I see one." Lutwidge smirked at Secret who was angrily glaring at Lutwidge. She stared straight into his cold, hate-filled green eyes. "But where's the other? Where's Subject 6AHSDD? She is part of our deal." He paced at the top of his platform like a cat. His beady eyes peering down on them as if they were nothing but cockroaches on a dirty kitchen floor. Biting her tongue for a few minutes, Arrowette spoke up.   


  
"You can't have either of them! You can't keep on treating kids like this! What kind of a person are you?!"  


  
"One with the cure to save your friend's life!" Lutwidge snapped back at her leaning on the rail. "I won't ask again, where is she?" A long silence followed that seemed to suffocate them as Lutwidge stared coldly. His icy stare cut them in half and he broke the silence and continued his threat. "What choice do you have? How many days does Robin have left?" The group winced but stood their ground strongly. "You don't have a choice. Hand them over and your leader will live."   


  
Once again silence followed. Guards stood at their appointed posts pointing shaky weapons at their targets. They barley breathed starring at the poor teenagers back-to-back in the crowded room. The agents stood their ground without an air of shame as their index fingers pressed tightly against the trigger. One false move, one false answer…  



	19. Part 19: Only the Good Die Young

  
Clumsily storing the guard in the corner, his joints aching, the boy quickly returned to the TV screen to watch in horror as guards pointed their guns at four teenagers back-to-back in a large room. His dark eyes were wide in terror as he watched Lutwidge step into the room. He knew what he had to do.   


  
Gathering every bit of courage he had, he took a deep breath and prepared himself for the most terrifying thing he might ever had done in his life. He closed his eyes and said a short prayer he'd heard once. From where? He couldn't remember. Uttering the last words of the prayer he took another breath.  


  
"Brother?" A voice asked from behind him. Spinning around quickly, he saw her. A beautiful young girl steeped out of the forbidding shadows. Her dark innocent eyes contrasted immensely with her watery figure. She walked over to him carefully. "Brother." She smiled.  


  
"Sister!" His eyes flashed with excitement as she approached. He suddenly realized that if he touched her, she'd be infected with his deadly disease. He turned away from her. "Sister, you can't touch me."  


  
"Are you too good for me now?" She snapped cruelly. Little did the boy know that his sister had also been infected with the same disease and it was slowly driving her mad. The affects of the next stage were quickly moving through her body leaving only moments of competent thought left. Second by second, another thought, another emotion, disappeared leaving only anger in it's void.   


  
"N-no." He said a little confused. He shook it off and raised his dark eyes to hers. "I'm infected with this…this disease! I'm…I'm not going to live." His voice caught in his throat as he painfully uttered the last words. He looked at her waiting for shook, fear, or surprise. Whatever her emotion, he was going to be there for her.   
"Why don't you just get the cure?" She asked with a sassy tone in her voice. "They have to have it here somewhere. That's the whole reason my friends and I are here. Although the morons probably got caught." She tried to blow a piece of watery hair out of her crystal glass eyes. But, it just rippled and stayed where it was.   


  
Shocked, the boy reeled back from his sister. How could she be so cruel? What words was she speaking? It didn't matter, they had such little time. He shook his head and asked:   


  
"You're friends…they're sick because of me…aren't they?"   


  
"Yep. You really screwed things up this time." She said nonchalantly looking around. "Do you know where the cure is? It'd help me a lot?" He stared at her blankly. Had she no feelings? He looked out of the corner of his eye to see the TV screen displaying a small image of Lutwidge yelling at the group of teens.  


  
"Listen sister." He glared at her knowing he'd have to be strict.  


  
"I have a name now!" She smiled excitedly still retaining some of her regular personality. "It's Marina! Isn't it the most beautiful name you've ever heard?!" She jumped to her feet, "We should give you a name! You could be…what did they say? Some name I heard a lot…oh right! You can be Bart II!"  


  
"We haven't any time for this!" He yelled. His pain was increasing even more with his time growing near. In more agony he looked her in the eyes. "Y-you're friends. They're sick because of me. I'm not sure…but I can feel it." A pause filled the room. Marina was about to speak when her brother stopped her. "I'm going to die. I don't have a chance. I know it. I don't know why, but I'm sure as you are my sister that I won't live through this." He turned and walked over to the screen for a closer look. "For all my life, well at least as far back as I can remember, I haven't done anything of importance. I was born into this world, the only world I know," He touched the screen with the guards aiming their guns carefully, "in so much pain. All I've done is cause pain. Nothing but agony for you, your friends, and me." His hand dropped from the screen, "Now, I can finally do something to save us all. You. Your friends. You'll all be safe. But, for this to work I need you." He turned to her, his dark watery eyes filled with a sort of incomprehensible pain. Just turning around seemed to hurt him. "See that counsel there?"   


  
"Yes." She said nearly emotionless.  


  
"Good. I'm going to go in there. When I go in there I can short circuit the power system."  


  
"What good will that do?!" Marina cried, "The back up generators will start!"  


  
"Not this time." He shook his head; "Before I came here I did some tampering with that equipment."  


  
"How?! You don't know anything about that sort of thing." Marina crossed her arms sternly convincing herself it was the worst idea she'd ever heard.  
"Actually, I had some one else to do it for me. Whoever he was, he seemed to know who I was and what I have." He looked at his hand, "Whatever I got, the guy was terrified of it. So scared." He stared at his hand sadly.  


  
"W-what do I do?"  


  
"When I go through, the system will shut down and the security system will turn off. With no back up generators, the doors should be open. All the others will escape! Even your friends!" He exclaimed. His eyes flashed with a sort of excitement she'd never seen in her brother before. "But, you have to see this plan through. You have to make sure your friends can escape in the darkness and the other 'subjects'," He shuddered while saying the word, "have to escape!" Slowly everything Marina's brother was saying began to sink in.  


  
"But…but you'll die!" She exclaimed panicked. He lowered his head. "The electric things going on in there will kill you!"  


  
"I know."  


  
"Then why?!" Marina was about half-mad and half upset.  


  
"Don't you see? I'll finally do something right. Something that will help someone." A tear rolled down his blue cheek. Surprised he watched it splatter on the floor. He never knew he could do such a thing. Whatever it was. _ I guess I won't have time to find out._ "Now, will you do this sister? Will you do this for me? Marina."  


  
"Br-brother. Y-you're the only one I've ever known. Since I met you, I knew you'd always protect me. How…how can I let you die?" She looked at him. He stood so proud and tall like…like the guards that used to surround her cell. She missed him so much.  


  
"Let me do this. Let me save you. All you have to do is promise you will help these people escape. Just to let them go." He begged her with his eyes.   


  
"All right." Marina whispered looking away. She watched him turn back to the console and take a deep breath. "But, won't you die the instant you get in there?"   


  
"I'll travel along the rubber wires until I get to the main control thing." He said not knowing what it was really called. "It's all over from there."  


  
"Y-you don't have to go." Marina walked up a little, holding back the immense anger building within her. "I could go instead."  


  
He just smiled and shook his head. "It wouldn't be right. Besides," He looked her straight in her glass crystal eyes on her cerulean face, "I'm already dead." Tears started to roll down her cheeks too and she turned away from him sobbing. Holding his breath a minute, he forced himself to move toward the main control console, his guillotine. He took one look back at her. "Good bye. Marina." He then moved closer and closer, trying to ignore the pain that froze him in place. Finally, he climbed in.  


  
He dove in following what he felt was rubber. Sliding along the red rubber tube as fast as he could. He came closer to a large colorful thing. Its base was green with many colorful cylinders branching off it like small rainbow logs in a grassy meadow. You like to think about those things before you die. Silver oddly shaped gadgets encircled and twirled around the green meadow.   
Everything and nothing was happening at once. Electrical impulses flew above his head and below his wire like a warning. He sped faster and faster. One million thoughts flying through his mind as if he were trying to think of all he'd ever done. They flowed through him like the fastest white water rapids. Thoughts of the guards, Lutwidge, the chemical, injections, that boy in the vents, torture, bars, and his sister.   


  
Subject 7AHSDD entered the main control panel. The electricity leaped on him and seemed to eat him alive. Tearing his flesh and ripping him to shreds. It was so unbearable he couldn't even scream. As the electricity feasted, slowly destroying itself in the process, 7ASHDD remember who he was and where he came from. But, his mind slowly disappeared from him and anguish took over.   


  



	20. Part 20: The Predator and the Prey

  
Red Tornado flew through the cold night sky faster than he ever had before. The terrifying sounds he'd heard on the headset were not pleasing. As he rushed toward the D.E.O compound at top speed, he realized how human he was becoming. At that moment John felt all the emotions he'd felt before. Fear, anxiety, and a sense of dread. In a small way, this realizations, these feelings, they made him feel wonderful. It was as if he was scraping the tip of humanity with his fingernails.   


  
The stars passed above him swiftly like they were all trying to get to safety before something horrible happened. Like they were all running away from a huge tidal wave or a stampede was headed in their direction.   


  
"That's certainly an odd thing think. Why would I suddenly think that they were running from danger?" Something was definitely amiss in the night. Like a perfect night with a bitter taste in the air or a premonition of something horrible. Then, John looked around. Large clumps of clouds flew below him like a moving sidewalk. So thick, it looked as if he were able to walk upon it. "My mind must have drifted while I was flying." This brought on another realization of how human he was becoming and how soon, he'd be as he was before.   


  
Red Tornado went back through the fog only to find piles upon piles of clouds. The stretched farther than his eyes could see and they were thicker than pea soup. He flew forward with more determination and a horrible feeling of fear inside of him.  


  
He passed through the dense fog using his robotic enhancements to steer his way through the forest surrounding the D.E.O. Approaching the wall the Red Tornado saw that there is little security surrounding the premises. Only a few guards remained holding simple guns. Either the D.E.O was not expecting any company, or an ambush was going on inside.   


  
It was child's play for John to disarm the guards and knock them into unconsciousness. The guard slid down the gray bricked wall to the floor below and dropped their simple guns out of they're once tightly clenched fists. Red Tornado looked towards the main building when suddenly the lights flickered and went out leaving only blackness in it's place.  


  
"This does not look like it will be an easy night." Red Tornado emotionlessly uttered as he flew to the building.  


  


* * * *

  


  
"What in the name of…?!" Lutwidge yelled as the lights suddenly went out. The obscurity covered everything, blacker than one thousand midnights. The agent's eyes were blinded by the absolute darkness.   


  
"This could be our chance." WonderGirl whispered to the others in the dark.  


  
"One tiny problem Cass," Kon-El whispered rudely, "how are we supposed to see?!"  


  
"Well I'm sor-ry Mr. Perfect," Cassie hissed, "but do I have all the solutions? What do I look like to you, huh? An answer booklet?!"  


  
"I knew from day 1 that you were-" Before Superboy could finish his immensely rude comment Lutwidge thought it appropriate to say a little something.  


  
"THIS ISN'T GOING TO HELP YOU!" Lutwidge screamed at the top of his lungs. His amazing yell echoed throughout the compound bouncing of every wall down every corridor…even to the main control room. "You are still here in this enclosed room and we still know where you are and even as I speak my agents are already putting on there night vision goggles. This is only a temporary set back Young Justice. And so help me I will make it my responsibility that you are shot dead on the spot right here!" Anger and blood pressure increased in Lutwidge's veins as the guards struggled to find their goggles.  


  
"Oh but there's just one problem Lutwidge." A voice seemed to call from all directions, "I know where you are, but you don't know where I am." The voice was sinister and cold. It was dark and sent a chill down Lutwidge's spine.  


  
"Who is it? Who's there?! I'm warning you, we have these kids at gunpoint! Do anything to me and they're dead!" He cried in fear something told him this person did not come in peace. He heard laughter come from all around him, encircling him like a vulture.   


  
"Don't you remember me Lutwidge? Huh? Maybe this will help." The voice let out a high-pitched horrifying scream that chilled everyone to their bones.   


  
"Subject 6AHSDD?" Lutwidge questioned to the darkness.  


  
"Right on the money." The chilled voice of Marina's was more frightening than being in the same room with a serial killer. Lutwidge could feel her presence around him like ice wind. He could almost feel her breathing on the back of his neck. He turned around but the darkness was a perfect disguise.  


  
"Now, Lutwidge, there's a little something you don't know about me," Her cool voice echoed through everyone's minds, "Robin's not the only one infected. I am too." The silence was deafening after Marina uttered those last words. She continued, "That's right, Sir. You finally got to test your little potion on me. Well guess what? I think I'm going to test it on you."  


  
"Are you insane?!" Lutwidge yelled looking around in all directions, "If you do that then you'll never get the antidote! I swear it!"  


  
"Well, maybe I am a little crazy," Marina whispered, "But you know you'll have to get the antidote sometime…and you'll lead us right too it."  


  
"Ha!" Lutwidge chortled, "I have more time then any of you do! I can wait, you can't."  


  
"Oh can't we Lutwidge? Did you know that this particular disease adjusts to the host? It moves faster in large amounts of water? That means if I give it to you, you'd have as much time as I do. I think we're the ones that can wait." Marina slipped back into the corruption of the shadows. This insane stage of aliment she was in had taken affect on her differently than on the others.   


  
Lutwidge was speechless as he felt her approaching him. "Now where is the antidote?" He just stared out not knowing what to do. "Where is it Lutwidge?! Or you will die with me! WHERE IS IT?!" She screamed in his ear. Lutwidge finally broke out of his voiceless trance and screamed.  


  
"I don't have an antidote!"  


  



	21. Part 21: The Concoction of Paranoia

  
"Red Tornado, what's going on? Are you there?" Rob asked into the small radio receiver in the headset.   


  
"Yes, I am here." He responded in his perfectly monotone voice. Robin breathed a sigh of relief.   


  
"Are you in the D.E.O?"  


  
"Yes. All the lights have just suddenly gone out. I fear for the worst in this case." John spoke as he looked through the window. The dark was everywhere on everything although; he could see D.E.O agents with guns at their sides in a frozen position. There was a baffled look on their faces as they stared at something farther off. Red Tornado focused his vision and tried to see exactly what they were starring at.  


  
"Can you tell what's going on in there?" Robin asked as he practically hugged the microphone on the headset to his mouth. He listened carefully for John's reply.  


  
"I would've already gone in there and we'd have the antidote about now." Bart's whinny cry came from somewhere behind him. "I'd be out of there in no time flat! You wouldn't even know I was gone!" He called again still rubbing his sore legs and flinching. The pain was still affecting him. Even the slightest motion caused him to yelp.  


  
"Bart at the moment I can't argue with you." Robin growled slightly as he listened intently to what Red Tornado had to say. "The others...can you see them?"  


  
John searched through the room when he saw them standing there. They seemed at a standstill with their mouths wide open. The four teenagers seemed to be looking at the same thing the guards were.   


  
"I see them. They seem to be staring at the same object as the guards." John said slightly perplexed. What could be holding the fascination of these progeny?  


  
"See if you can get a closer look. We need to know what's going on." Robin insisted and waited for the Red Tornado to reposition himself.  


  
"OW!" Bart wailed from the other side of the room clutching his arm. "It hurts to move!"  


  
"I think we came to that conclusion Bart. Just try not to move okay?" Robin responded to Bart's pitiful cry. Bart held his Impulse mask almost sadly in his hand.  


  
"I was just trying to take this off." He moaned softly.  


  
"Bart there is a lesson to be learned in this." Robin said, the disease still having an effect on his personality, "Don't move. The more you move, the more you're going to hurt. Hold on a minute. I'm getting something from Red Tornado." Robin held up his index finger telling Bart to wait (something Bart hated to do). "Oh my God..."  


  
"What? What is it? What happened?" Bart leaped to his feet trying to ignore the tremendous pain.  


  
"Red Tornado stop her now!" Robin cried into the headset.  


  
"Her who?!" Bart questioned with a hint of pain in his voice.  


  
Red Tornado came through the window. Glass shattered everywhere spilling small shards over the linoleum floor. At the same time a loud alarm went off signifying that the prisoners cell's were opened (these particular alarms were tripped as a default mechanism in case of an escape when the power may not have been functioning. I.e.: a power outage or a blackout. Sly D.E.O).  


  
The guards snapped out of their confused daze and began to rush to stop the prisoners from escaping. Suddenly forgetting all about the manxome foe they had once guarded.   
Young Justice, too, suddenly were out of there own trance and look to see Marina holding Lutwidge by his jacket in aversion.  


  
Marina stared into Lutwidge's fearing eyes, "I'm not through with you yet, coward." She grabbed him harshly and threw him up into the dark air vents. "We're going to see if you're really lying Lutwidge."   


  
"Marina hold on a-" But it was too late. Marina had already disappeared from their sight. D.E.O agents were shoulder to shoulder struggling to catch the "subject" and at the same time pushing the young heroes left and right.  


  
"We won't get anywhere like this!" Superboy yelled finally deciding to take control of the situation. Knowing Robin wasn't there, he knew that it was up to him to be the leader. The girls and Red Tornado looked at him expecting a plan. _ This must be how Rob feels. Everyone relying on him…well here goes._ "Let's spilt up. WonderGirl and Secret, you two go and help out the escaping prisoners. Arrowette, you and Red are going to find that antidote. I think that Lutwidge's lying and it's worth a shot. I'm going after Marina. Got it?" The team nodded and split up into different directions following the directions of their temporary leader.  


  
"Listen here!" Lutwidge yelled trying to sound as demanding as he could as he and Marina moved through the air vents. "There is no antidote! You and your friend don't have any choice!"  


  
"How dumb do you think I am?!" She turned back to him, her crystal eyes burning in anger. "You may have kept me as your prisoner for all these years but that doesn't mean I haven't learned anything. Your guards talk you know. And for some reason I don't think the D.E.O would make a deadly disease without some antidote!"   


  
"Well then you haven't learned enough yet!" Lutwidge bellowed back at her regaining his military-like status, "Why do you think it's a 'biological warfare' weapon? Because there's no cure to it! It's meant to slowly kill the enemy...**you**!"  


  
"If that's so then you're dying with us!" She snatched him in her arms and held him face to face with her. "Once the guards around my cell were talking about something. You know what? They were talking about the worst way to die. I think I'm going to try it out on you. You will die such a slow and painful death that you will wish you'd been eaten alive!" She loomed over him and prepared to kill him the slowest way she could think of at that moment.   


  
Suddenly a large blow came beneath the both of them knocking them further in separate directions. Marina skidded down left of the blast while Lutwidge flew back toward the right. In pain, Lutwidge looked up to see what had saved his life. Superboy flew up and looked over at Marina, just beginning to get up from the force of SB's punch.   


  
"Didn't mean to upset this touching moment but I think we need to lay off the killing for a bit." Superboy came close to her and tried to grab her but she simply slipped her delicate watery fingers through his grasp.  


  
"You don't understand!" She screamed getting to her knees, "He's a murderer! He's a killer!"  


  
"That doesn't mean you have to be!" Superboy stared her straight in the eyes looking deep within them to find some other feeling than hate. Her eyes could return nothing close to a human emotion. All he could see was something dark and foreboding within her soul.  


  
"If you're not my friend, then you are my enemy!" Marina's eyes glowed with fire and suddenly a rushing sound was heard in the distance. It was like the sounds of a busy highway but faster. All at once, a huge wall of raging water formed behind Marina. She gave a small maniacal smile he'd seen on so many villains as the water swept through her and right toward him.  


  
"Oh man…"  


  



	22. Part 22: Meanwhile...

  
"AHHHHHHHH! I can't take this anymore!" Bart yelled again and glared at the back of Robin's head. Robin sighed and turned around.   


  
"I'm sorry Bart, but things aren't looking good right now. I haven't gotten a response from Red Tornado yet. I have no idea what's going on out there. I know you're in a lot of pain and I don't know how to help you. All I can say for now is just don't move." He turned back to the shattered computer screens. Robin thought a minute. He'd all ready sent half the team and Red Tornado to the D.E.O with no clue on what's going on there. "Bart, I'm going to have to go there."   


  
"I thought you weren't gonna. Isn't there a chance that someone else could get the disease we all have? That's why I'm not going, right?" Bart asked. Robin turned to him and raised an eyebrow.  


  
"Yeah. I thought you weren't listening but I have to go. I don't know what's going on there. If they're in trouble…we won't know about it. I'm going to have to take a risk on this one. I want you to stay here."  


  
"How can you ask me to stay here!" Bart exclaimed waving his arms, "What if you get in trouble? I'll miss all the action! Not to mention, what if I'm here and doing nothing and I suddenly break out in a seizure or something. Then no one will be here to help me!"  


  
"First off Bart, you won't have a seizure. Secondly, if I did take you, you might go into stage 4. Then you'd only get hurt. It's better to keep you here where it's safe." Robin replied slipping a few things in his utility belt just in case. Bart frowned knowing that Robin was right. He didn't like it though. Bart fiddled with the mask in his hands watching Robin getting ready to go into battle. Robin turned to Bart and handed him a little radio, "In case I get in trouble, I'll use this to contact you. Speak into this mic here while holding down this button marked 'talk'." He pointed the buttons and directed his teammate on how to use them. "Okay, and if you are having any problems, just contact me."  


  
"Hey, Rob?" Bart asked looking up from the radio he was given.  


  
"Yeah?"   


  
"What if you don't come back?"  


  
"Well…" Rob suddenly paused. _What if I **don't** come back? What if I don't make it there? What about the team—No, I can't think about that now._ "Trust me, that's not a possibility." He said with an air of confidence. Robin held up his hand as a kind of "good-bye" and left.  
  


  


* * * *

  


  
"Gotcha!" An agent cried grasping on to the foot of a subject that could've easily been mistaken for a wookie. The terrified "wookie" cried out in fear making a sound similar to that of a frightened bear cub.  


  
"I don't think so!" A voice came from behind the agent. As he turned around he was greeted by a punch in the face that sent him sailing across the room. The "wookie" looked up at his savior to see a girl standing with a black wig on her head, blue goggles over her eyes, red pants, kneepads, and a leather jacket covering a black tee with the letters "W" and "G" on it. He didn't know who she was, but he was grateful. She was about to say something to him when another subject cried out for help. The "wookie" looked with admiring eyes as the hero quickly raced to save another distressed subject.   


  
"I coulda swore I already freed half of these guys last time I was here!" WonderGirl complained as she knocked another agent clean out. The slimy, green subject he was attacking seemed to want to thank Cassie with a big hug. It outstretched its loving tentacles toward her. "No offense but I think I'll pass."   


  
"The D.E.O probably recaptured them." Arrowette yelled over the screams and alarms. She aimed her net-arrow carefully and shot it at three guards ganging up on an escapee. "Yes!" She cried pleased with her work.  


  
WonderGirl noticed that even though Arrowette and her were doing an incredible job of butt-kicking, the escapees had no where to go. The guards were blocking most of the exits and trying to close them off manually. The room had a few broken windows via Red Tornado, but otherwise it was a huge cage. Well, something had to be done about that.  


  


* * * *

  


  
"It's this way…I think." Secret said turning down a corridor. "They usually studied me in my own…cell." She almost whispered a little painfully. The D.E.O building brought a lot of painful memories for Secret. She choked them back and continued on. "Uh…what do you think Red Tornado?"  


  
John was slowly following Secret mapping down the blueprint of the building as they went along. He made sure to download the path exactly when Secret asked him. "This would be my first time here. I am not clear on the location of the laboratory."  


  
"Oh." Secret said plainly and they turned another corridor. "Here!" Secret excitedly yelled. She moved ahead and hovered in front of overly white double doors. A small window was cut near the top of the door. Secret peered in to find the setup all too familiar. High-tech medical equipment lined the walls with a large metal table in the center. Secret shuddered and backed away from it. Red Tornado saw Secret's obvious reluctance to enter the room.  


  
"Secret, you do not have to enter if it is too upsetting." Reddy comforted looking at the double doors.  


  
"No, no…it's okay. I can do this." She gathered up her courage and opened the doors. Secret took a deep breath and glided in. The smell, the sight, the feeling was almost overwhelming. It was as if she was re-entering a nightmare. She pushed past her feelings knowing that this was something she had to do.  


  
Reddy took a look around at all the equipment that not even he himself had seen. Above the metal table were a collection of lights and probes with metal arms and tools. Even above that there were what appeared to be windows. Red Tornado made his way up to get a closer look. He found that the windows were linked to an observation area. It was set up as if it were a Med school! Red Tornado hovered back down to the ground.  


  
"Secret, I do not think this is the laboratory. I believe this is an examining room."   


  
"I...I know. The examining room connects to the laboratory." Secret shuddered, "Uh…I think the laboratory is through that door." She started to move closer to an ominous looking metal door when Red Tornado stopped her.   


  
"Why don't I go in there. I'll go in and you tell me if anyone enters." Red turned toward the door and walked over to it. Secret didn't argue and was happy that Red Tornado volunteered to go in there. She didn't want to find out what was in there.  


  
Red Tornado opened the large metal door when a loud rumbling came from above  



	23. Part 23: The Table Turns

  
The water thrust SB's body into the back of the air vent with a mighty blow. Fortunately, for Lutwidge, he was able to turn the corner fast enough to avoid the powerful blast. He watched as the boy of steel was pressed by a tremendous wall of continuous rushing water against the back of the air vent.   


  
Superboy was being pushed hard against the metal surface with barely enough time to think. The pressure increased and he was beginning to feel the world go black. He tried to break out the metal wall he was being pressed up against with his ttk. But he couldn't concentrate with the water enveloping him in a watery prison. Kon's last breath escaped his throat and the water no longer seemed that painful. Just as it appeared as though the young hero was done for, the back of the vent busted open from the immense pressure sending Superboy flying into a line of white cabinets.   


  
"Superboy?!" Red Tornado question almost shocked (well, as shocked as an android could get). Superboy fell to the ground weakly but climbed to his hands and knees. He coughed up a little water before responding.  


  
"R…Reddy?" He questioned eyes focused on the ground. Before Red Tornado had a chance to respond Lutwidge flew out of the dark air vent SB had recently emerged from. Red Tornado quickly reacted, catching him before he hit the already broken cabinets.   


  
"You should've let him hit." A dark voice came from within the vent. Marina slowly slid out of the darkened vent down to the white floor of the laboratory. It seemed that the exact passage of the vents Superboy was traveling through connected directly to the laboratory. Marina's tiny feet reformed upon contact with the white tiled floor. "Now, you die as well." She aimed her slender arm toward the three. The water from the vents rejoined and began to rush into the room. The water started to fill up the room.  


  
"Not this again." Superboy murmured as he climbed to his feet. Marina just laughed evilly.  


  
"There's nothing you can do…but die!" She began to laugh again but her laugh slowly faded and her eyes closed slightly. She began to tip backward and the water cease to flow. Marina closed her eyes and fell backward. In the blink of an eye, Superboy "appeared" behind her and caught the falling girl.  


  
"Thank God. I thought I was going to have to make another hole in the wall." SB smiled as he walked over to Red knee deep in water. Marina curled up slightly in Superboy's arms, almost as if she were sleeping.  


  
Lutwidge, stood up and began to dust himself off. He glanced up at the ones who had saved him. He growled a bit under his breath and then noticed that Superboy was holding Marina in his arms. He was enraged but then he suddenly thought of what a good opportunity it was. Confidently, he walked over to SB.  


  
"Now son," Lutwidge began, "I think it's best after this sort of calamity to hand her over to the people who understand how to deal with her correctly. If you'll just-"  


  
"Deal with her correctly?!" Kon yelled angrily, "By doing what? Putting her in the wabe? By doing all sorts of painful tests for 'science sake'?! Well let me tell you something Lutwidge: She..she's…n-not…she…" Superboy trailed off and grabbed his head with one hand, "Ah…my…my head!" He said clenching his teeth. SB closed his eyes tightly and held onto Marina who was resting peacefully.   


  
At first, Lutwidge was confused. He had no idea what was going on. Suddenly, it hit him, Superboy must've also been infected with the disease! Of course! Why hadn't it hit him sooner? He smirked and walked closer to the pained Kon-el.  


  
"Turns out this is a better deal than I had expected. Hurts bad doesn't it?" Lutwidge asked smugly, "You'd really like for that pain to stop wouldn't ya?" Superboy gave out a yelp. His head hurt so badly, like someone had started a fire in the back of his skull. SB was shaking all over and he couldn't hold on any longer. He dropped Marina and fell unconscious into the water. Lutwidge took this opportunity and grabbed her quickly. "I knew you'd make the right decision." Lutwidge almost laughed when Red Tornado came up from behind him.  


  
"It would be in your best interests to give her back and leave peacefully, Lutwidge." Red Tornado glared down at Lutwidge.  


  
"What are you going to do about it? You touch me and she'll get hurt. I wouldn't take that chance if I were you." While Lutwidge said this he held a small device in his hand that looked something similar to a prod.   


  
"I was more motioning toward the fact that when Superboy wakes up, he will be quite angry. And I believe he is going to destroy anything that happens to be in this room. That includes you."  


  
Lutwidge stopped for a moment. He completely forgot about that part of the disease. He slowly looked over toward where Superboy lay face up in the water. Lutwidge felt like a complete idiot. He then turned back toward Red Tornado.   


  
"Then both of us should get out of here before he wakes up." Lutwidge yelled and started to slosh through the water to the door. Red Tornado spoke again.  


  
"There is something else, Lutwidge. There is a very familiar person waiting out there. I don't think she'll be too happy to see you. Especially after what you tried to threaten her with." Red Tornado said in his monotone voice. Lutwidge stopped again. Why did there have to be so many complications?  


  
At that moment Secret's voice was heard through the door, "What's going on? Are you okay Red Tornado?" She asked with concern.  


  
"Secret don't come in!" Red Tornado looked toward Lutwidge and said, "Although I may be needing you real soon."  


  
"All the better," He said trying to cover up his nervousness, "then I can have both of them and you can be on your way." Lutwidge turned back toward the door.  


  
"What about the antidote, Lutwidge?"  


  
"You fool!" Lutwidge cried in anger still holding Marina, "He could wake up at any second! We're only wasting time. I thought I had mentioned that there is no antidote!" Lutwidge picked up his pace and was just about to open the door when he heard Red Tornado coming closer toward him.  


  
"I hope for your sake, there is."   


  
"What do you mean?"  


  
"Of course you know that you are infected with the disease yourself." John said nonchalantly.   


  
"What in the blazes are you talking about?!" Lutwidge yelled, his face growing red.  


  
"You know that this certain ailment is carried through touch, especially through water. Marina is made out of water and she can probably not keep her form very well. She's probably seeping through your suit as I speak." Lutwidge looked at his jacket to see it was soaking wet. "Not to mention," Red Tornado added, "that all the water in this room has in one way been in contact with someone infected with the disease. That means that the water you are currently standing in is filled with your biological weapon, Lutwidge." Lutwidge froze in place; he hadn't even taken those factors into consideration. He looked toward a white case resting on one of the counters.   


  
"In there." Lutwidge nodded toward the container as if he'd been defeated. "It's in that white container. Let's get out of here now before he wakes up!"   


  
Red Tornado grabbed the case and walked toward the door when suddenly his ankle was grabbed. Red Tornado took a look to see a red glove was holding onto his ankle. He quickly looked back to see Superboy's eyes were still closed but his hand had somehow grabbed onto his ankle. Red Tornado began to unlatch his hand (balancing the container in his other arm) when suddenly, Superboy's eyes opened.  


  



	24. Part 24: Silent Night

  
The Super-Cycle sped through the night's dark cloudy air. Turning on the Super-Cycle's headlights may have been too risky. Fortunately, the Cycle's tracking system led Rob toward the DEO even though seeing was next to impossible. The weatherman had not predicted this thick fog. Not even a trace of it. There probably should have been a lot of accidents going on, with no one able to see the other cars on the road. But the streets seemed oddly quiet. No honking, yelling, screeching of tires. Nothing, just an eerie silence that sent a chill down Robin's spine. It was too quite. In this mist, there should be all sorts of chaos. But there was no time to check it out. Not now. He knew that there was something wrong at the DEO.   


  


* * * *

  


  
WonderGirl wiped her hands clean of concrete bits that had flown from the hole she'd just created in the wall. The panicking was getting worse. They hardly even noticed the loud KABOOM of the wall tumbling to the ground. Cassie couldn't help but wonder about her friends. _Did Red Tornado and Secret find a cure? Was Superboy okay? What about Robin and Impulse? _ These thoughts occupied her mind for only a moment when the sound of loud, heavy footsteps headed rapidly toward her interrupted them.  


  
She whipped around to see a huge wooly mammoth-like creature headed frantically toward the newly formed exit. WonderGirl quickly took action and began to direct the "subjects" out safely. Three guards barreled straight for WonderGirl as she busily directed the escapees toward freedom. Unfortunately, for WonderGirl, she was too busy trying to help the panicked subjects to realize what was happening. She finally turned around to see the three D.E.O agents only a few feet away. She braced herself for the attack but in just a blink the guards were stopped in their tracks. Cassie soon realized they had been frozen. "Thought you might need a hand" Arrowette smugly yelled to her friend from across the room.  


  
"Whew." Cissie sighed in relief as she watched her teammate rush a few lizardish creatures toward the exit. Their forked tongues slid in and out as they hissed a "thank you". Arrowette looked around to see that there were still hundreds of guards capturing innocent subjects. Their screams could be heard as they were dragged kicking off to some unknown location. Arrowette headed toward them but she felt it was almost useless to do so. Even as she prepared one of her trick arrows on her smooth four-curved bow, she could hear elsewhere a creature screaming for help. It seemed a hopeless battle.   


  
Suddenly, the room quieted down. Cassie looked to see most of the animal-like subjects had hidden under the platforms that circled above them where more battles engaged. The subjects were strangely quiet and calm. Almost peaceful. Cassie began to get worried. She saw the guards exchange baffled glances, not even they had a clue of what was going on. Unsure of what had happened, Arrowette moved closer to the hiding subjects carefully. Screams and yells still echoed off the walls from other subjects in the background. Arrowette crept closer but the subjects were still calm.  


  
"I have a bad feeling about this." WonderGirl muttered as she directed a few meta-humans to safety. She watched Cissie gently approach the animalish creatures against the wall. As Cissie came closer she noticed that most of the creatures were silent although she heard a few low growls. Suddenly, the room grew silent. A few yells were still heard in the background but were quickly silenced by a low rumbling.  


  
Inches from Arrowette's face, Red Tornado exploded through the wall. She fell backwards as Lutwidge soon was tossed through the small hole in the wall crashing into Cassie.  


  
"AHH!" WonderGirl cried in surprise as Lutwidge slammed into her. In the force of the hit Lutwidge had dropped Marina. "What in Hera's name?!" She cried shoving Lutwidge off her. The guards rushed over to help him up.  


  
"I'm fine you morons! Get him!" He said pointing toward the large hole in the wall with water spilling to the linoleum floor. The guards heads whipped to see no one there. A few got close to investigate when a large gun appeared out of the hole held by a red gloved hand. Cissie gasps as she saw Superboy appear a top the rubble holding an unconscious Marina in one arm, a very large weapon with the words "Warfare Research" imprinted on the side, and a sinister smile on his face.  



	25. Part 25: Fire Works

  
A cool musty smell filled the air. It was so lonely. Dark walls on all sides and slight dripping could be heard in the distance. It was probably something in the Med-Lab that had not been cleaned up yet. Every little noise broke the endless silence. Crickets from somewhere inside, the dripping of a chemical splashing to the rock floor, the whispers of a breeze snaking down the Justice Cave halls, the high-pitched blips from the Terminal Odyssey game Bart was playing.  


  
"Boring." He griped defeating the last level of the video game. He reclined back in the recreation room sighing. "This is so boring! I'm so bored. Where **is** everybody? So bored…I'm so bored." He complained some more leaning back as far as he could. Robin had commanded Impulse to remain in the Justice Cave for safety reasons. Bart assumed it was for his safety. But, some knew better. Currently caught between stages 3 and 4, Bart seemed perfectly fine. Of course, he did not know that after stage 4 comes the last stage. And in the last stage, he dies. "I'm so bored…I wish Max was here!" He shuddered. "I did **not** say that!"   


  
He got up out of his chair as it crashed to the floor. He stretched a little and sighed. He sped off toward the meeting chamber of the Justice Cave and began his search.  


  
"I know it's here somewhere…" Bart trailed off looking under the table. He pushed aside a few soda cans and pizza boxes, but to no avail. The item he was looking for was still lost. He ran around at top speed till almost the entire meeting chamber was switch all around. Bart sat down and sighed, "I can't find it anywhere…I had it a second ago." He got up again to look around when he had a sudden impulse he turned around to see what he had been looking for was lying where he was just sitting! "Hey, hey! There it is. Hmmm, I should've felt it…oh well." He grabbed it up and dusted it off quickly. He smiled, "Young Justice is a team, right? And I'm part of the team, right? And teams stick together, right?" He slipped his mask on, "Next stop…the D.E.O!"  


  


* * * *

  


  
Robin stealthily landed the Super-Cycle in the thick woods. The fog was still hard to see through, but luckily, it had lightened a bit. Just enough to see the building. He got out his binoculars and focused in on the area. There was a huge hole near the bottom of a stone wall. Moving his binoculars upward the tall wall he saw a row of windows stretching across near the top. The majority of them were shattered with bits and pieces of the glass jaggedly pointing out in all directions. The Super-Cycle whimpered from behind him.  


  
"Shhhh…Cycle." Robin hushed it straining to hear anything. The Cycle started to growl. "Cycle, shhh!" Robin hushed it again. He placed down his binoculars carefully in the wet grass and pulled out a walkie-talkie to see if he could get in contact with Bart. Suddenly shots rang out behind him from some unknown source, hitting the wet bark off of a tree near by. The Super-Cycle blasted into action firing lasers and strange beams off everywhere creating a colorful light-show in the gray fog. The light illuminated a figure in the darkness. With amazing speed, Robin whipped out two bat-a-rangs and whipped them toward the figure. The bat-a-rangs tore into the figure's clothes and pinned him to a large dead maple. His gun feel to the soft ground harmlessly.   


  
Carefully, but quickly Rob approached the figure who was struggling shakily against the bat-a-rangs pinning him and his clothes to the tree. Robin grabbed him harshly. _D.E.O agent._ Rob thought. He looked straight into the agent's fearful eyes.  


  
"Who are you and what's going on in there?!" Robin asked harshly pulling him up by the front of the shirt. The agent let out a shaky cry.  


  
"Ahhhhh! I'm….I'm…Agent J-Johnson. I…don't know what's going on in t-" At that moment Robin jerked him harder.  


  
"What's going on in there?" He questioned darkly. His opaque lenses burning into Johnson's wide brown eyes.  


  
"I DON'T KNOW!" Johnson yelped, "I-I lost contact with Lutwidge…"  


  
"Lutwidge." Robin repeated narrowing his eyes. Before Robin could speak another word, a thunderous crash was heard. The ground shook and rumbled beneath his feet knocking him and Agent Johnson to the ground. The trees shook barely grasping onto the ground beneath them. The maple Robin had pushed Johnson against cracked and fell forward it's deep shadow falling over them even through the thick fog. The ground still grumbled below as Robin rolled out of the way taking Johnson with him. The maple splintered on the shaky ground, spraying water and sap as it hit. Johnson's foot was nearly caught under the heavy wood. Robin was getting slower with the increasing of the disease.   


  
The Super-Cycle reacted immediately hovering above the quaking ground, rushing to the Boy Wonder's side. It scooped him and agent Johnson up in a quick swoop. It headed toward the D.E.O building swiftly.  


  
"Thanks Cycle." Robin said as Johnson caught his breath. The Cycle vroomed it's own "welcome" and sped up.  


  


* * * *

  


  
"Holy—" A guard's panicked shout was drowned out by the sound of the gun firing off a shot. A bluish laser beam was emitted from the cannon hitting the back wall with such a great impact that the whole wall nearly collapsed.   


  
"How'd he get into the 'Warfare Research' department?!" A guard wondered that aloud firing off shots at Superboy. No answer came to him as SB fired the next shot directly at him. The guard had barley enough time to get out of the way as the laser beam blew passed him.   


  
Superboy just smiled. Fully engulfed in the 2nd stage of the disease. He raised the gun again, the unconscious Marina still in his right arm. She curled up close to him, as if this boy wielding a gun was a source of comfort. Ignoring her, he fired another laser. But the shots were becoming too far apart. Guards were making their way through. They kept getting closer and closer in-between his firing. Without a change of the smile on his face, the ground began to slowly shake. A slight rumbling at first beneath everyone's feet. No one noticed at first until it grew. The ground shook violently knocking creatures, guards, and heroes alike to their knees. The Boy of Steel wasn't even concentrating.  


  
"What the hell's going on?!" Someone shouted over the "earthquake". But their only response was the floor shaking harder. Their struggling seemed hopeless until a masked figure appeared ready to put an end to the chaos.  



	26. Part 26: The Wrath of Kon

  
Secret had been waiting for quite a while after Red Tornado had told her not to come in. She floated gently above the floor listening as well as she could for Reddy's signal. Secret thought she heard a familiar voice coming from behind the door. A voice that sounded horrible. It brought her back to the past back to a time she didn't want to go to. _Who was it? Who's voice was that?!_ She debated with herself whether or not to disobey Red Tornado when she heard the low alarm pierce through the air. She turned around but as she did a loud crash was heard from the examining room. _OK that's it! Signal or no signal I'm going in there!_ Secret pushed the door open and started to rush into the room when a voice caused her to stop.  


  
"Hey look there! That must be why they sounded the alarm! It's the mist girl!" a young man's voice said behind her. When she looked she saw three young men staring at her in a mixture between awe and fear. She panicked and made herself into a large smoke monster to scare them away.  


  
"Leave me alone!!!" she yelled to them in a devilish voice. They cowered like frightened deer.   


  
"Hey guys! I got it! I got the…" the obvious rookie's voice trailed off when he saw Secret in her monstrous form. She looked in his hand to see a containment tube she knew all too well from her stays at the D.E.O.  


  
"NOOOO!!! NEVER AGAIN!!!" She attacked the confused agent and swiped a giant paw across his face. He screamed but it never hit him. Her hand passed right through him leaving the stench of sleeping gas in his nostrils. She did the same to the other young guards and they all fell into a deep sleep. Secret shrunk back down to her normal size and shook off the memories of her captive life in the D.E.O. "Oh no! I forgot about Red Tornado!" She quickly floated into the room (ignoring the doors by passing right through them). "Red Tornado, are you all righ-" she cut herself off when she saw the terrible sight. Superboy was standing on the edge of the room in front of a large whole in the wall. She could see him firing at guards and patients. Marina's head could be seen resting on the crook of his arm but at his feet water rushed towards the new opening. On the rushing water was a white case. At first she dismissed it and headed straight for Superboy when out of the corner of her eye she saw writing on the case. When she paid her full attention to the container she realized it read: "Warfare Research Remedies" in the corner of the case and in small print. She grabbed for the case when suddenly, the water it was riding on turned into a ferocious sea of choppy waves. It flew through the air, landed back into the water, and sunk under. _Why is it doing that!_ She thought to herself when she saw that it wasn't just the waves moving it was the whole room. Debris and medical equipment fell into the water. _An earthquake?_ But it was too late to concentrate on that as the white case came flying back up through the air right at Superboy's head. She used all her speed to catch the case before it smacked into the back of SB's head.  


  


* * * *

  


  
Impulse had just come in ready to fight. But he didn't know who to fight. The D.E.O agents were toppling over, subjects were screaming and collapsing as the floor rumbled beneath their feet. He saw Arrowette falling to the ground, now ankle-deep with water. He ran right through the diseased water splashing it on anyone close to him.  


  
"What's going on?!" He yelled over the rumbling and yelling being careful trying to keep his balance and catching the girls before they landed in the water.   


  
"It's Superboy!" WonderGirl cried trying to regain her balance, "He's gone into the 2nd stage!" As if to demonstrate his madness, he fired his weapon wildly off in all directions and set off another burst of his famed tactical telekinesis through the floor knocking the heroes off their feet. Arrowette landed on Impulse's back and WonderGirl flew up before she hit the ground. "We can't get near him with that stupid gun shooting anyone who gets close and his TTK keeping us unbalanced."   


  
"This looks like a job for…Impulse!!" Impulse zwipped off towards the super maniac and WonderGirl caught Arrowette since Impulse had neglected to make sure she was off his back before zooming off. The teenage speedster easily dodged the blasts and used the D.E.O. agents as stepping-stones when the rumbling came. He reached Superboy and was greeted by a blast right to his face. Of course Impulse was too quick for any gun and simply vibrated through the shot. SB, outraged by the fact that he couldn't hit Imp, started lashing out with kicks and punches towards the masked hero. He couldn't land a single shot. "Is that the best you've got?" Imp foolishly teased. Superboy just seemed to get angrier and angrier as his blows kept missing their annoying target. Fortunately though, this did buy time for some guards to get to their feet and run over to help. Impulse was getting sloppier. It took a punch to his face for him to realize this. He barely dodged it and the sting of Superboy's knuckle bruised his cheek. Bart finally started to get serious and fought back. The Metropolis Kid couldn't take the barrage of hits that Impulse was landing on him. It almost felt like the air around him was on fire from the quickness and severity of the blows. But then something quite favorable for Superboy happened. Impulse was getting slower.   


  
"Imp! What's wrong?" WonderGirl called as she flew towards the scene. She would have come sooner had she not been previously detained by the flow of frightened patients. But Bart didn't really know. What he could tell is that it hurt but at the same time, he couldn't stop or else he'd be mutilated by SB. Unfortunately, Imp didn't have much of a choice. Kon-el took this opportunity to kick his foe to the floor. Impulse landed hard on his back. Bart struggled to get up to the horrible realization that he couldn't. It was as if his joints had been glued in one position. He looked up pitifully at Superboy who smiled evilly down at him. SB simply lifted his foot and slammed it down on his surprised teammate's head. Seeing this, WonderGirl hurried towards the two dueling teammates. She was feet away from the two, still holding Arrowette high above the agents who were being swamped by angry ex-patients, when she suddenly wavered.  


  
"WonderGirl, are you OK?" Cissie called up to her struggling friend. WonderGirl couldn't stay aloft. Arrowette's answer came when her friend dropped to the floor in pain. Arrowette somehow managed to turn about, land on her feet, and catch Cassie in her arms. But WonderGirl wasn't easy to hold. She wriggled and rolled about in immense pain. "What's wrong Cass! Speak to me!" Cissie desperately whispered to her best friend.   


  
"The….The PAIN!" she screamed out grabbing her head in utter agony. Cassie let out a long, loud tormented cry.  


  
"Cassie! Cass stay with me! Please! You can beat this thing! I know it! PLEASE!!" Arrowette begged the agonized super heroine. Cassie gave a miserable look up to Arrowette as tears streamed down her cheeks. She suddenly fell unconscious in Cissie's arms. "CASSIE!!!!!!"  



	27. Part 27: Falling Apart

  
The Super-Cycle crashed right through the walls of the D.E.O, growling. Robin groaned. "Cycle, did we really have to break another wall?" Robin looked around to see the entire room was nearly falling apart! Every wall had **at least** one hole in it. _This room could collapse at any moment!_ Everyone seemed too preoccupied by falling, fleeing, and Superboy to realize it. _Wait a second…Superboy?!!_ Robin quickly looked to see Superboy finishing off Impulse.   


  
Superboy looked up. A cruel smile forming on his face while Imp lay unconscious on the ground. _Impulse? No!_ Robin thought staring down at him.   


  
"Super-Cycle, don't land. He's using his ttk to keep everyone off balance." Robin spotted Cissie out of the corner of his eye. "There!" He cried turning toward Cissie, "Get Arrowette outta there!" The Super-Cycle vroomed and dived straight down to Cissie. As they gradually got closer to Arrowette, Robin noticed Cassie lying in her arms. _WonderGirl too?_ The Cycle hovered slightly above Cissie and she held the unconscious WonderGirl up to Robin. "What happened?" He asked carefully bringing her in.   


  
"She…she just started to scream. It's her head, the 2nd phase." Arrowette whispered sadly. Just then, the Cycle began the shake and whimper. The guards and subjects were trying to get into the cycle for safety.  


  
"Cycle take us up!" Robin commanded and the cycle did so obediently.  


  
"What about the subjects?!" Arrowette cried.  


  
"WonderGirl's gonna wake up and be more dangerous than ever. If we have a bunch of innocent people in here, they're gonna get hurt. Not to mention, we couldn't possibly carry that many people. I'm sorry but we need to get WonderGirl away from these people and stop Superboy."  


  


* * * *

  


  
Marina's eyelids fluttered and she opened her eyes. Someone was holding her but she couldn't make out who. Her head pounded and there was a horribly loud sound like a laser or something. Marina rubbed her eyes and looked up to see Superboy. _Thank goodness, it's only Superboy, I thought for sure that Lutwidge…wait a second…_ Marina looked carefully at him to see he was concentrating on something. She saw everyone around the room falling and the walls were shaking and cracking. _Is he…is he doing this?_ She wondered. Marina wasn't sure what was going on but she was pretty sure that it was Superboy causing the damage. There was only one way to find out.  


  
Marina blasted a stream of water into Superboy's face stopping his concentration and leaving him a bit confused. The earthquake stopped for just a moment but continued right after. She slid out of his grasp and got into a fighting stance.  


  
"Are **you** doing this, Superboy?" She asked. He only smiled and focused a ttk blast straight at her. She dodged just as the blast went straight past her feet and smashed into a wall. SB looked slightly angry and fired another blast at her. She barely dodged again as the blast flew past her and nearly zapped a group of guards. Superboy got more frustrated. He had only been using a quarter of his power on her keeping most of his concern on the guards and patients. He thought this would be over easily. But his patience was wearing thin and he wasn't going to deal with another one-on-one battle. The floor shook harder beneath them splitting the ground in two! The tile split and cracked breaking apart. The very earth pulled apart beneath Marina's feet! Marina slipped and fell backwards into the cavern.   


  
"AHHHHHHHH!!!" She screamed toppling head over heels when Secret plunged straight down to catch her. Secret grabbed her quickly and pulled up to the top. "Thanks Secret!" Marina smiled gratefully and turned back to Superboy.  


  
Carelessly thinking Marina had died, SB had turned away and began splitting the earth further apart hoping a few innocent people may just drop inside. Secret and Marina nodded to one another and went for him. Marina blasted Superboy up against the inside of the lab walls holding him fast and stopping his chaos. Secret zoomed ahead turning herself into sleeping gas and knocking Superboy unconscious.   


  


* * * *

  


  
Robin turned back to WonderGirl. She lay helpless on the floor of the Super-Cycle. Agent Johnson cowered as far away as he could be from her. He narrowed his eyes. "Okay this is what we have to do—" before Robin could finish, he heard the rumbling stop. He looked down below to see SB sprawled on his back. "What the—" Impulse was still unconscious but Marina was standing, fully awake, over Superboy angrily.   


  
Apparently, while Robin had rescued Arrowette and Cassie, Marina had woken up, saw what was going on, and put an end to Superboy's madness... somehow. She stood above him her eyes narrowed when she heard another low rumble. Marina quickly looked back down at Superboy. But he was sleeping like a baby.   


  
"The place is gonna blow!" Someone cried. Of course it wasn't going to blow, but the room would most certainly collapse. People started panicking pushing through to get out of the room into the fresh night's air. Patients and guards collided and meshed together till you couldn't tell who was who.  


  
Red Tornado the whole time had been getting subjects to safety carrying as many at a time. But, his efforts seemed to be pointless, there were too many to all be saved. There was no way they could get everyone out of there in time.   


  
"Robin, we can't possibly get them all out of here! What are we going to do?" Arrowette cried to him. Robin didn't have much time to speak, large chunks of the ceiling came crashing down. People screamed and almost trampled one another.   


  
"Marina! The ceiling!" Robin yelled out.  


  
Marina took action. She made a jet of water blast up to the ceiling trying to hold it together. She created another and another trying in desperation to keep it from falling on everyone. _Gotta…save these people…_ she thought straining to keep the ceiling from collapsing.  


  
"Secret! Help Marina!" Robin cried. Secret obediently did so. She created a smoke blanket just below the ceiling to try to hold it up. Or at least buy everyone enough time to get out of there.   


  
"Arrowette," he said turning to her, "see if you can calm those people down. With Secret and Marina holding up the ceiling they should be able to get out of here safely. " Arrowette nodded and the Cycle set her down gently. "Red Tornado," Robin called, "this place is gonna cave in, get Impulse and Superboy out of here." Red Tornado dove down and scooped both Impulse and Superboy up.   


  
Robin flew down to help Arrowette calm the crowd down. The sharp pain in his foot distracted him for a moment. His wound from the glass shard had yet to heal. But, Robin couldn't think about that now. Not with all these lives on his hands.   


  
Arrowette was doing a surprisingly good job of calming the crowd down and getting them out. Some agents of the D.E.O sneered at her while they exited. _Someone should be out there making sure they don't recapture the subjects._ Robin thought to himself. Before he could open his mouth, he heard Agent Johnson snivel in the corner.   


  
"What happens to me?" Agent Johnson was huddled up in the corner unaware of the recent events. He had been silently hoping that he could just disappear. But, now he dreaded being alone. He was afraid of what might happen to him if he were alone.   


  
Robin turned angrily to Johnson, his opaque eyes glaring straight into his. Robin looked past him to see WonderGirl lying in the Super-Cycle. She looked almost peaceful there, her black hair spread across the floor. But Robin knew that if she woke up, everyone would be endangered. He couldn't just have the Super-Cycle take her away, could he? No. They needed the Super-Cycle here to help them with all the escapees. If worse came to worse, the Cycle would have to help Secret and Marina hold up the ceiling. Secret couldn't stay in solid form for too much longer. Superboy could—no he was unconscious. Impulse—unconscious. There was always—no Robin wasn't even allowed to drive that. As doors seemed to shut all around him in his mind, he saw Johnson. Could Johnson possible help him? Could Johnson keep track of WonderGirl? No he couldn't possibly, he's the enemy and would turn on Robin in a second. But what choice did he have? He grabbed Johnson harshly. If he was going to put his teammate in the hands of the enemy, he better make sure Johnson knew where his place was.  


  
"Listen up, Johnson." Robin growled in an almost inhuman tone, "we're in the middle of a crisis here. That ceiling could collapse at any minute. I need to get these people out of here now. What's going to happen, is you're going to watch over her." He pointed a finger toward WonderGirl, "If she starts to wake up, use this." Robin took some sleeping gas spray out of his belt, "She needs to be kept unconscious. And you use this to keep her that way. Understand?" Johnson slowly nodded his head. He shivered as he shakily held the spray in his hand. Robin turned and headed off to help Arrowette and break up the fights. He turned around looking back at Johnson. His dark cape gently followed his motion. Robin spoke with such a dark voice that the Cycle began to whimper "She better be here when I get back." He burned through Johnson with his ominous glare, turned, and leapt off.   


  



	28. Part 28: Loose Ends

  
Agent Johnson watched Robin's cape flow behind him as he leapt off the Super-Cycle to the broken tile floor below. Robin stuck the landing on the uneven ground his dark cape surrounding him. Then Robin vanished into the night to help those in need. Agent Johnson's eyes turned back to WonderGirl. She looked like such an innocent girl. Why did she need to be kept unconscious? Suddenly, fear took over Johnson. He remembered those soulless eyes that had just burned into him not two minutes ago. He remembered that impious voice that crushed his spirit it as if it were nothing. He told himself not to question.  


  
He curled his legs into his chest as if he were nine years old again. Agent Johnson rested his brow on top of his knees and closed his eyes. The sounds of feet crunching broken tile and screams became an almost soothing lullaby. Unexpectedly, an acrimonious sound broke his seemly melody. He lifted his brown eyes up slightly over his knees. The noise came again, but it's harsh tone turned into harsh words.  


  
"Johnson! Do you hear me?"   


  
"L-Lutwidge?" Johnson asked crawling over to the side of the Cycle. He peered down to see Lutwidge standing a little far off as the Super-Cycle rushed to pick up a few more passengers. He had an angry look on his face. Johnson gasped. "Sir! What are you doing here?"  


  
"Things aren't going too well, Johnson." He shook his head; "This didn't turn out at all like I expected. But there is still one way we can stay on top of this battle."  


  
"Sir," Johnson began meekly as a young boy pushed past him, "I don't mean to be rude sir but, I think it's time to give up this fight. This room's going to go down soon. The best thing for us to do is get our subjects and just give them their cure. We don't want to kill anyone. Do we, Si—" The Super-Cycle jolted and moved to another side of the room. Johnson tumbled backwards. He tried to get back up as the Cycle exited the room letting the other people off. Johnson grabbed his forehead for a minute. The Super-Cycle bolted back into the room to rescue more innocents. Johnson somersaulted backwards and hit the far wall. His head pounded and his back hurt like crazy.   


  
"JOHNSON!! Would you stay still when I'm talking to you?!" Lutwidge yelled at him following the Super-Cycle's movements.  


  
"Sorry Sir!" Johnson yelled out of the side, rubbing his back with one hand, "It was really involuntary!" The Cycle came to a halt letting more subjects on. Lutwidge quickly made his way to the Cycle and climbed aboard. The Super-Cycle took off with a loud vroom and headed outside.   


  
"Listen Johnson, we don't have much time now. To get on top of this battle we need a bargaining tool." His eyes turned to WonderGirl propped up in the corner of the Super-Cycle. "Her." Johnson looked from WonderGirl to Lutwidge.  


  
"With all due respect Sir, are you crazy?"  


  
"This isn't a game Johnson! This is war."  


  
"But, Sir, people's lives are at stake! And this isn't really war. We can't risk all our men and everybody over—"   


  
"That's what war is Johnson. People get hurt and lives are always at stake. The victors are the ones with the power." Lutwidge said through grit teeth.  


  
Johnson looked back at WonderGirl. He was supposed to protect her. Supposed to make sure she was safe. Could he give her up so easily? Lutwidge's eyes burned into Johnson's skull. He thought he didn't have a choice, but then he felt Robin's eyes watching him from a distance. Johnson could still hear his harsh voice in his ears.   


  
"But….but Sir," Johnson stuttered, "if I give her to you….I could get in BIG trouble." His eyes searched the area but everyone seemed preoccupied. Lutwidge sighed. He had to come up with something clever…and quick. Johnson had always reminded him of a little boy. Sometimes Lutwidge wondered why he hired him. Lutwidge cleared his throat.  


  
"Listen Johnson…Ted, I want this to end as much as you do. But she, is a key role in ending all of this. I promise you this will all turn out for the better." Lutwidge opened his hand and offered a smile, "Please Ted, help me end this."  


  
Johnson looked around slowly. Robin's words…that voice. Oh God! Why did Robin choose him! Why him? He breathed in and out thinking trying to see which would suit him better. All around him debris fell from the ceiling. No time to think. The decisions appeared in his head, he could only choose one. Give her to Lutwidge or protect her. Lutwidge sighed and finally decided.  
  


  


* * * *

  


  
Marina felt herself grow tried as she shot another jet of water up catching a large chunk of the ceiling. The sky was visible now. Fog covering and seeping in through the new holes in the ceiling. It was covering everything. _It looks so beautiful._ Marina thought to herself as it crept in. She had never seen anything like it. Being incarcerated in the D.E.O for as long as she could remember, Marina had never seen such a beautiful thing before. She wanted to touch it. She wanted to know what it felt like. But then she heard the screams of everyone around her as an even larger chuck than any of the other before it cracked and broke from the ceiling. Marina snapped out of her daze and used most of her strength to push the large hunk of canopy upward. It didn't go very far. It seemed to hover a bit above the people like an ominous shadow.   


  
"I don't think I can hold on much longer." Marina said trying to keep everything together.  


  
"I don't think I can hold this form much longer either." Secret's voice wavered as she spoke.  


  
Robin popped his head in and took a quick look around. There was the last group of people being taken outside by the Super-Cycle and Red Tornado picking up the two last guards and whisked them to safety. He scanned the room again. It seemed that everyone was out.   


  
"All right," Robin yelled, "Let it go and get outta there!"  


  
"HELP!" A cry came from inside. Robin whipped his head around to see a girl with her foot trapped beneath a rock. She was barley visible her whole body hidden in the darkness.  


  
"NO WAIT! STOP!" Robin cried out as he raced back inside. _Stupid Tim. Very stupid._ He thought to himself as he released the girl from beneath the rock. Her ankle was covered in blood and she tried to get up but fell back down. Robin scooped her up in his arms and ran as quickly as he could toward the exit.  


  
Marina couldn't keep it up any longer. The water flow stopped and the ceiling collapsed. Secret's form reverted back to gas as she watched the wreckage crashed down to the floor. She saw a glimpse of red and green as large chucks crashed to the ground and ripped through her smoky form.  


  
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" She screamed her incredibly shrill pitched voice silencing the chaos outside. The rubble crashed to the linoleum flinging dust up into the air mixing with the fog. Everyone stood around in silence as the wreckage settled and the thunderous crashing became a dull roar. And suddenly…all was silent.   


  



	29. Part 29: Tickled Pink

  
Like her whole world had just crashed down, the D.E.O walls tumbled to the ground. The fog swirling around her, mixing with her. Her eyes widened as she looked at the mass of concrete and metal. Twisted pieces curling up dimly in the mist. And under all that. Under the metal, under the concrete. Was Robin.  


  
She sank to the ground for a minute, devastated. Her eyes still wide. Did this even happen? Did she…kill him? She closed her eyes. She thought she felt tears but…she couldn't be sure. Her tears weren't even really tears. Just an illusion. Secret shook out of it. _No! He can't be dead!_ She thought getting up. She flew over to the rubble. Secret felt weak. She was pretty sure she looked like she was. She used what was left of her strength and began pulling the wreckage off. Struggling beneath the weight.   


  
The people stood around staring at the once great D.E.O holding room. Completely destroyed. And in the midst of the wreckage, the smoke girl, the cause of their problems, lifting up the boulders. Dumbfounded, they watched her removing the hulking remains. It dawned on the subjects that they were free. That finally they were…were free. Arrowette shook out of the mesmerizing trance the destruction had left her in. She ran to Secret's side lifting the heavy boulders off. Searching for Robin.   


  
Marina felt sore all over from holding the ceiling up. She hadn't been used to using her powers to such an extent for such a long time. Her whole body ached and she just wanted to sleep. She just wanted to curl up in the grass and rest. But, something in Marina's mind troubled her. She'd seen something right before everything crashed down. She thought she saw…she saw someone underneath all those flying rocks. It couldn't have been that. Robin had said everyone was out. But she thought she heard him say something else. Something right before she let go. She looked up slowly, her neck was even hurting. She saw two girls in the distance, in the fog busily removing the rocks. _Now, why are they doing th-_ it hit her like a ton of bricks. That glimpse of something under the rocks. Someone must've been trapped under there! Her heart sunk. It was all her fault. She raced to the wreckage. Her whole body ached and it was hard for her to keep herself together. Literally. But she worked anyway. Washing away the damage. Hoping to find the person she'd crushed underneath.   


  
Red Tornado rushed down lifting up the wreckage too. Then, one by one, everyone started joining in. Guards and subjects came together in an uneasy truce. They all began to lift the rubble off searching for the people crushed underneath. Secret hardly realized they were there. Her efforts and attention were fixed on getting Robin out of there.   


  


* * * *

  


  
The rocks surrounded them like a coffin. Closing in on them from all sides. There was very little air. And the tight area began to feel hot and suffocating. It was dark. The only light was a slight aura surrounding the girl. It glowed a dim yellow. A large rock was sealing them in from the top. Pressing down on Robin's back.  


  
Robin grit his teeth. The rock must've weighed at least 20 pounds more than him. Not that bad. But there were other rocks on top of that. Robin could feel himself struggling to keep the weight up. The girl he'd tried to save was under him. When all the rocks fell from the ceiling, Robin had to think quick. He couldn't get out of there in time if he tried. Not that he didn't try. He carried the girl and ran toward the exit. But, a huge piece of the ceiling's shadow covered over them. He skidded out of the way. Robin's feet hit another boulder that had previously fallen. He tried to get up and get out but more rocks fell down towards them. He quickly covered her making sure that the falling debris would hit him. The rocks piled on one another. At first everything was all right. It just trapped them inside. But, because of all the weight of the rescuers on top of it, the rocks shifted and, in order to protect the girl, Robin moved into a boulder's path. Now they were both trapped underneath the smashed ruin's hulking weight. Robin, trying hard not to let the weight crush them both.  


  
_I don't know if I can hold this for too long._ He thought to himself. Robin began to calculate the weight of the boulders on top of him and his own strength. If only he could hold it up long enough for a rescue crew to get there in time. If they couldn't save him…at least they could save her. He began to wonder how much air they had in left in there. If the weight didn't crush them both, they would suffocate. How long did they have left?  


  
"¿Estas de acquerdo?" A small voice came from beneath him. He didn't want her to talk, it would use up whatever air they had left. Wait a second…she's speaking Spanish. He tried to remember how to say "be quiet." in Spanish, but his mind was fuzzy cause of the pain he was feeling. The boulder was sinking down hard on top of him.  


  
"There's not much air. Be quiet." He whispered hoping she'd understand. She obviously knew a little English considering she had called for him in English.   


  
"¿Que?" She asked in the shadows. He heard her begin to panic. "¡No quiero muerte! ¡No quiero muerte!" She cried out trying to push against the walls. The bright yellow light intensified as she struggled. The exertion made it difficult for Robin to concentrate.  


  
"Shhhhhh." He hissed out straining under the weight. "No…no muerte." He whispered simply. The girl calmed down a bit. She relaxed and her light aura turned blue. Tranquility.  


  
_*_ (* Translated from Spanish) She thought staring into his mask. His pain was written all over his face. Sweat dripped off of him. And she realized that he must've been holding up the rock above them. To keep from…crushing her. __ She crossed her self and begin to pray silently.  


  
_This isn't making me feel any better._ Robin thought watching her whisper to her praying hands. His head throbbed and his back ached. Well, at least it took away from the pain in his foot. The girl was glowing a slight yellow again. _Her aura was like a mood ring_ He thought. _ Blue is tranquil, yellow is fear, and red means anger…_he began to drift of on the thought. The pain numbing in him. Robin's vision began to get fuzzy. _I wonder what purple means…_ That thought was puzzling as he drifted off. It would be so easy to just…give up…_and green…_   


  
__ She thought as he wavered. She had been able to sense aura since she was twelve. Everyone had one so she always knew what they were feeling. Everyone had one…except her Grandmother right before she died. Grandma had no aura…and then she was gone. Her eyes opened wide as she saw Robin's aura fade. __ She raised her hand and slapped him across the face. "Stop!" She knew that word from her days at the D.E.O. They said it often enough to her. "*¡Vamos a vivir!" (* "We're going to live!")  


  
_That was quite a wake up call,_ but it wouldn't last long enough. The slap still stung Robin's cheek but he could feel the boulder slowly crushing down. Becoming heavier at every passing second. The girl looked up at him shivering. Robin's arm stung and he knew he had pulled a muscle. He felt his back beginning to give out.  


  
"Lo…lo ciento" He whispered softly. She looked surprised. She suddenly glowed white and she shed a tear. She closed her eyes knowing it was over. She looked up at him letting the tears fall off her cheeks.  


  
"Thank you." She glowed a light pink. What is pink? Robin thought. She reached up behind his head, pulled him in, and kissed him. His eyes widened under the mask but then he closed them tight and kissed her back. _I'm so sorry…_  


  


Suddenly the weight was lifted off his shoulders and he heard:

  


  
"Robin! You slut!" His eyes popped open and looked behind him. D.E.O agents and subjects peered over the side into the hole where wreckage had once been, hoping to find the people crushed underneath. Well…they found them.  


  
Everybody burst out laughing like it was the funniest joke they ever heard in their lives. A roar of laughter spread over everyone infectiously. Laughing more out of relief. Robin felt his cheeks burn as he got off the girl. This made everyone laugh even harder. Especially seeing the big red hand-print on the side of his face. _I am **really** sorry._ At that point he just wanted to disappear, and then she did. The girl had not only an aura seeing power, but invisibility also. Robin looked at where she'd once been.  


  
"Take me with you." He muttered truly embarrassed. The laughter lightened the tension filled fog and everyone was relived. Not only that the two were all right, but that everything was finally okay. Everything was finally better. That's what they were hoping for anyway.   


  
A shot rang out cutting the laughter off. Stopping it with its noise. A few gasps were heard and all turned their eyes to see who had fired the shot. Lutwidge stood behind them a smoking gun in his hand, WonderGirl, and a cruel smile on his face.   


  
"Now that I have your attention…"   


  



	30. Part 30: The End is Near

  
_This is familiar_ Arrowette thought as she saw Lutwidge standing with WonderGirl in his arm and a gun in his hand. She sighed, exasperated. All she wanted to do was go home and sleep. Arrowette thought for a second that Robin had given off the same sigh.   


  
"Do you really think this is the time to play war games when half your compound is destroyed and escapees are getting away." Robin said matter-of-factly. Everyone stood still watching Lutwidge's moves. His hand clutching the gun so tightly his knuckles were turning white. As if watching an old western movie, they watched Robin, cool and calm but fatigued, approach Lutwidge. When Robin drew near Lutwidge's head jerked and his index finger twitched against the trigger. "This is not the time to negotiate. The battle is over. Why don't you put down WonderGirl, and we'll help you round up the subjects and forget it ever happened." Robin's voice was soft and reasonable. But Lutwidge's green eyes burned with madness.  


  
"You can't win this one! I have the upper hand!" He shook WonderGirl's unconscious form. Robin began to wonder if the insane stage of the disease had gotten to him already.   


  
Secret floated softly over to Arrowette and whispered to her, "Lutwidge doesn't have the cure." Arrowette cocked an eyebrow and looked directly at Secret.  


  
"What?" She whispered harshly.   


  
"I found it earlier, it was in a big white container but I lost it." Secret said solemnly looking at the mounds of the broken room. Arrowette's eyes widened.  


  
"You mean…" Arrowette's gaze looked over the broken pieces and Secret nodded.

  
"It's somewhere in there." Secret glanced toward the debris. Arrowette thought for a second. She needed to be there with Robin as back up incase Lutwidge got out of control. And if he dare hurt Cassie…she'd kill him. Secret and Marina could easily slip through the cracks in the broken pieces to find the cure the way they'd done for Robin. She turned to Secret.  


  
"Secret, get Marina and start going through the ruins to find the white case. I'll stay here and as soon as you get it, we need to give it to Bart." Arrowette told Secret silently. Secret wafted slowly trough the air towards Marina who was hiding away.  


  
Robin spoke to the crazed man carefully choosing his words. "Just put her down…we'll get these guys back in their cells and then we'll just…leave." He carefully advanced toward Lutwidge. Robin knew that in a hostage situation with an insane psycho you have to try to play it toward their angle.   


  
_If Lutwidge is in his insane stage,_ Arrowette thought,_ he can't be reasoned with._ Arrowette's eyes widened in a sudden realization _Robin doesn't know that. He was first to go insane and he never saw when Bart went nuts. He must not know that the insanity stage increases someone's power!_  


  
"Rob…." Arrowette hissed towards him urgently. Robin's eyes hadn't left Lutwidge's. He uttered softly.  


  
"What…" Robin kept coming closer ever so slowly. Arrowette came up behind Robin carefully trying not to attract too much attention. She whispered into his ear.  


  
"Robin, I think he might be in the second stage"   


  
"That's why I'm just going to ease him out of th—"  


  
"No!" Arrowette interrupted him. "If he's in the second stage he CAN'T be reasoned with! He's going to go all out insane and start destroying stuff mindlessly! And he'll have amazing power."  


  
"Amazing power?" Robin cocked an eyebrow skeptically glancing at Cissie.  


  
"Yes amazing power! This disease increases someone's po—" Right then Lutwidge backhanded Robin with the gun forcing him to crash into Arrowette sending them both to the ground. "Oof!" Arrowette cried as she hit the ground and Robin fell onto her. Lutwidge's gun pointed down towards the two.  


  
"It's my turn to talk now." Lutwidge said in a cold voice.  


  


* * * *

  


  
"Come on, we have to go find a white case." Secret gently floated down next to Marina. She was hiding behind a large pile of debris curled up into a ball. Her crystal blue eyes looking up at Secret.  


  
"Do you think that it'll do any good?" She asked coyly. Secret seemed a little surprised at the question but nodded.  


  
"Yeah, of course it will. When we get the case we'll be able to help cure all the infected people. Come on, let's go." Secret began to head towards the rubble when she heard Marina sob.  


  
"Oh Suzy!" She cried into her watery hands, "Maybe we should just give up! I didn't…I didn't mean to do all this! I just wanted to...to help! Maybe if I just go quietly, maybe he'll let everyone else go." She said softly trying, in vain, to wipe away her tears. Secret floated beside her.  


  
"Don't cry Marina. And don't give up. We have to do this. There are a lot of people counting on us. We can't just give up. Not after all this! Come on Marina, let's just finish this." She offered a warm smile and Marina nodded slowly.   


  
The two headed toward the pile of rubble and began to slowly go through the pieces, slipping through cracks, looking for the white container. They were tired and aching and all Marina wanted to do was sleep. They could here the sounds of Lutwidge's voice outside and they both shuddered.  


  
"You don't know what this is going to do to my reputation and my career. We had scientists working on the NW5 project for months! The government was expecting the substance to be done by New Year's. Do you realize how far you've set back this project? Do you have any idea how many people you've infected? This could turn into a world wide epidemic!" Lutwidge shouted spitting the words out. "The first time you kids came to the D.E.O you were smart, oh yes. You broke out our subjects. You destroyed our facilities. But not again. I will not let it happen again! I swear…" Lutwidge continued on ranting.  


  
Red Tornado had been watching the event for a while and he couldn't wait around any longer. He had the responsibility of watching over the fallen, Superboy and Impulse. But he couldn't stand by and not do anything. He looked back at the two boys hidden safely from harm. Red Tornado thought just how much longer Impulse had and he felt the slightly familiar feeling of sadness wash over him. But now was not the time for sorrow. It was now time for action.   


  
"…much money a year! Do you know how little that is?! And the cost of this room alone…" Lutwidge had been going on like this for a while now. Waving his gun dramatically toward the crowd every now and then causing them to duck. But the gun would always return to Robin and Arrowette.  


  
"Arrowette," Robin whispered softly to her. "on the count of three, you roll to the left." Robin had to do this quick and be careful about it. If anything went wrong…he tried to concentrate.   


  
"…2TDNII and subject 6AHSDD! And you think that…" Lutwidge cried out, complaining.   


  
"1…" Robin whispered  


  
"…you can just come in here and destroy WHATEVER you want and…"  


  
"2…"  


  
"I DON'T THINK SO! Do you just go into any…"  


  
"3!" Robin cried and Arrowette rolled to the left as Robin pushed Lutwidge's gun upward suddenly. A shot fired off into the sky but was hidden quickly by the dense fog. Robin wrestled the gun away, breaking a few of Lutwidge's fingers. Lutwidge howled and pain clutching his digits. Suddenly, as if it had been planned, Red Tornado swooped down from the bleakness grabbing WonderGirl from Lutwidge's arms. Robin acted quickly, took off his cape putting it over Lutwidge's head entrapping him. With a quick punch he knocked him unconscious. Robin turned back to his teammates. "Good work guys…"  


  
All of a sudden, they heard a voice call from behind them.  


  
"Hey guys!" Marina cried, "I found it! I FOUND IT!"  
  


  



	31. Part 31: Hysteria Hurts

  
The woods were cool and foggy. The mist slowly curling and twisting around the tree trunks and playing with the grass. The silvery moon was full although hidden behind the mysterious fog. The forest around the D.E.O was surprisingly quiet, no crickets even chirped. But, somewhere in the dark wood, something stirred.  


  
"uhh…" Superboy groaned bringing a gloved hand to his throbbing forehead. The last thing the poor boy remembered was Lutwidge's husky voice, and the incredible pain in his head. He muttered some profanities as he sat up. "Where…?" He wondered as he looked around.   


  
As if he were in some freaky horror movie, the light from the D.E.O shown vaguely through the thick trees. There was no noise except for the sound of his own heart and someone's low breathing. _Someone's low breathing?_ Superboy thought and slowly turned his head to see Impulse curled up at least five feet away from him.  


  
"BART!" Superboy cried seeing his fallen teammate. "Bart man! Who did this to you?" He saw a painful looking bruise and marks on Impulse's face. One of the speedster's yellow lenses had been broken in. SB's mouth opened wide in horror. "If I ever meet the slime that did this to you…" Superboy trailed off little knowing that it was really he who was the slime.   


  
As if God decided to play an amusing joke, Impulse's eyes slowly opened. His vision was blurred and his head throbbed. Someone was talking to him. But their words weren't making sense. He struggled to focus and he saw Superboy's concerned face come into view.  


  
"AH!" Impulse cried out in surprise. Still thinking that Kon was crazy, Impulse began attacking him mercilessly.   


  
"Dear God Bart, NO!" Superboy yelled as Impulse pummeled him. "AH!! Stop Bart STOOPPPPP!!" The confused Kid tried to hold him off turning on his TTK. "What has gotten into you?"  


  
"I believe I can answer your questions." Red Tornado answered.  


  
"GAH!" Kon yelped as Red Tornado emerged from nowhere. Bart was still intent on taking Superboy down before he hurt anyone else. Fortunately, Bart's persistence wasn't paying off. "Get him off me." Superboy gave an annoyed look at the android.   


  
"Impulse," Red Tornado spoke to Bart as he zwipped around retrieving various items to break through Kon's TTK, even though his joints were freezing up. "put down the dynamite and listen closely. Superboy is back to normal now. The insane stage of his disease is over."  


  
Bart suddenly stopped working the lighter and looked up at Reddy, "Really?" His eyes brightened. "Hey Kon! Great to have you back!" Impulse exclaimed. Superboy rolled his eyes but then realized what Reddy had said.  


  
"You mean…all that time I'd been unconscious, I was really crazy?" He asked realizing the obvious.  


  
"Yes." Red Tornado stated robotically. "I've come to see if you two were all right, fill you in, and make sure you two get the antidote." Superboy perked up.  


  
"Antidote? They got the antidote? They have the _cure_?" He asked excitedly.   


  
"Yes, there is much that has been going on while you were sleeping."   


  
  


* * * *

  


  
"Just calm them down." Robin yelled massaging his temples slowly. The instant Marina arose from the wreckage saying she had found the cure, the creatures of the D.E.O went into frenzy. Pushing, shoving and trampling to see who would get it first. Marina yelled, terrified and hid behind Secret.   


  
"Everyone just calm down! Hold it, hold it!" Arrowette cried. She hopped on the Super Cycle and it landed softly in front of the crowding masses. "Everyone stay calm! You will ALL get cured. If you keep pushing and shoving, someone will get hurt." Arrowette struggled to calm them down. The Super-Cycle revved up protecting Cissie like a bodyguard to N'Sync. The crowd shoved up against one another impatiently.  


  
"Who gets it first— ?"  


  
"I need it the—"  


  
"I feel sick someone give me—"  


  
"I have a wife and kids! I need it!"   


  
"You do NOT have a wife and kids!"  


  
"…one day…"   


  
"Help I need it—" Random voices rose from the people, hysteria arising once again.  


  
"We're all gonna die!" One overly panicked guard screamed clutching his hair.  


  
"No no! No one is going to die!" Arrowette cried raising her arms to calm them. "Now you'll all get a chance to be cured and NO ONE is going to die. We first need to deal with the people farthest along in the disease." Cissie spoke calm and rationally. Robin sighed in relief. His head hurt, he ached all over, his cheeks were still hot, and he swore he had pulled a muscle in his back. Suddenly his eye caught something zooming out of the forest. _Sup_—when suddenly Superboy came flying out of the woods knocking Robin over.   


  
"Je—" Robin said crashing to the ground. Superboy hid a smirk and called a vague "sorry" back toward him. He landed quickly next to Cissie.   


  
"Where's the cure?" Superboy asked impatiently, eager to get cured and go home. _Sleep…that sounds so damn good right now. Just flop down on a nice, comfy, warm, soft—_  


  
"Kon you're up!" She exclaimed a little surprised. Last time she'd seen him, he was beating up Impulse, now he acted as if it had never happened.  


  
"Oh yeah, also hi and it's nice to see you…what the--?!" He questioned finally realizing the amazing destruction around him. A piece of the building still smoldering on the grass, WonderGirl guarded by Secret (after Red Tornado had gone to revive the boys), and Lutwidge lying unconscious, a few loyal guards protecting him. "Boy…I missed all the fun." He said sarcastically starring out.   


  
The crowd began to get unruly. One girl standing between them and the cure. A few began to sneak around. "Let's just hold it right there!" Superboy said regaining a grip on the reality. The crowd began to panic finally remembering who this kid was.  


  
"He'll kill us all!" That one panicked guard cried out again. Superboy looked puzzled toward Arrowette.  


  
"No! No you guys, he's not crazy anymore—wait stop!" Cissie cried out as the throng dispersed. Superboy quickly tried to bring the crowd back together, remembering that if any ran out into the woods, they could spread it to a nearby town.   


  
Marina held the container close to her hiding behind Secret with WonderGirl as she heard the screams. "What…what's going on?" She asked peeking around to see Superboy flying after picking up some stray individuals. Marina gasped, "Not again!" She rose up, a fountain of water and shot towards Superboy with the speed of a rocket, although she was exhausted. "Leave them alone!" She yelled.  


  
"What are you—AHHH!" He cried as Marina blasted him into the side of the building. He dropped the individuals to the ground as the jet of water hit him. "AHHHHHHGGG!!" He was pressed against the wall hard as he had been not that long ago, feeling his breath escaping him.   
A dark glow burned in Marina's eyes for a second. "Die you bastard die…" She uttered focusing her energy on breaking his body.   


  
"No Marina, NO!" Arrowette cried trying to get her attention. "He's not crazy anymore! He's not evil!" Arrowette ran toward her. Marina shook her head getting out of her almost hypnotic trance.   


  
"Really?" She asked lessening the pressure off of him. She stopped and Cissie thought she saw Marina's cheeks glow a light purple. "Sorry." SB slid down the wall, sopping wet and gasping for air. He felt as if someone had dropped an anvil on his chest, repeatedly. But he managed to cough out:  


  
"It's cool."   


  
Robin, meanwhile had climbed to his feet, and gave off a groan. His head throbbed so hard and his joints began to feel really stiff and sore. But, that wasn't important right now. People were panicking, a teammate was down, and he had no idea how to administer the antidote to hundreds of people. Then again…those hundreds of people were not his concern. His concern was his teammates. _How could I think of such things! Those people need my help as much as my teammates._ Robin thought hurrying over to check on SB and give some orders.  
"Are you okay?" He asked helping SB up. Superboy shook off Robin's arm tersely. Robin seemed a little surprised.  


  
"I'm fine." Superboy glared. Robin narrowed his eyes.  


  
"Has anybody actually thought how we're going to administer this medicine to all these people?" Arrowette question, breaking the moment of tension. "After all, we don't know if this is something that involves a shot or if it can be taken orally." Arrowette thought aloud, the people calming. With Secret protecting the serum, Arrowette could stop chasing everyone around.  


  
"I think I…I could help out…with that." A stuttering voice was heard from behind them. All members turned around quickly to see a mere shadow of a man speaking up. Agent Johnson.   


  



	32. Part 32: The Grand Finale

  
Robin was so angry. So full of rage he thought he'd just deck the guy right there. But he knew he was angrier with himself. How could he have possibly left his teammate and friend in the hands of the enemy? How could he have done that to her, even when he knew that something like that might have happened? This was going to involve quite a long chat with Bruce afterwards. Johnson cleared his throat.  


  
"You see, I've been an Agent of the D.E.O for quite some time and I've…ob-observed several of these…these tests with the 'NW5' serum. I…I know how to use it…and the cure."  


  
"Why should we trust you?" Robin snapped viciously. His eyes burned angrily through the opaque lenses. He felt the anger flare through his wearied veins. Agent Johnson adverted his brown eyes turning them to the ground.  


  
"Well frankly…you don't have much of a choice." Johnson said. Robin's rage flared a little. _I cannot trust this man again. Not after what he did to WonderGirl… what I let him do._ The guilt settled thick on Robin as he recalled how he'd trusted his teammate's safety in the hands of the enemy. _How stupid could I be? But now's not the time to kick myself. _   


  
"What do you mean? What about all the other scientists here? They could tell us just as easily as you could." Arrowette pointed out.  


  
"What makes you think they're…they're anymore trustworthy…than me?" Agent Johnson managed to get out. He was right of course. "Anyway I…I want to help you." The team looked shocked.  


  
"Is the word 'cliché' ringing in anybody else's ears?" Kon whispered to Bart.  


  
"I can…just do this and you…you'll never have to see me again. I…I'll be…be better." Agent Johnson muttered. The man's weak will showing through. But there was determination in his eyes, almost a trust that could be felt.   


  
Robin was skeptical but a low moan from Cassie tugged at Robin's heart. Secret looked towards Robin with a hand on WonderGirl's hand. She pleaded to him with her eyes.  


  
"Robin," Secret began slowly, "this thing has been going on for a long time. There are too many people infected and too many people hurt. I hate the D.E.O as much as any of the subjects here, but look around you. Their building is destroyed, their leader has fallen, their friends and co-workers are falling to a sickness they know they soon will contract. They're tired and weak and fearing death." She looked deeply into Robin's eyes, "I know that they won't stop us. I feel it in my heart. Please Robin, this whole thing is a big mess. They want this whole thing to be over, just as much as we do. Please…please let's just let it end." Secret ended her speech sadly floating eye-level with the Boy Wonder. His eyes were cast down, though no one could see it through the mask.  


  
"Agent Johnson." Robin stated sharply, making everyone jump, "start helping these people now." Secret smiled gratefully.  


  


* * * *

  


  
"OOOOOWWWWWW!"   


  
"Oh quit being such a big baby." Arrowette giggled. Superboy held his joint crossly.   


  
"It hurts okay!" He whined nursing a more minor of wounds he'd gotten that day.  


  
"Well, you're the one that insisted on getting the injection instead of the Marina treatment." Arrowette nodded toward Marina. She was the first to be injected with the antidote. It seemed only logical that since NW5 was contracted via touch and through high contents of water, that the antidote would be the same. So, instead of the tedious process of injecting every individual soldier, subject, and superhero, Marina would simply pass through each body leaving part of her, and the cure behind. Marina insisted that she'd be fine and that her body naturally regenerated. Superboy grumbled some more.  


  
"I just don't want her to have to expend any more energy than necessary. The poor kid's practically dead on her feet after curing all the infected." He mumbled. Cissie was stunned at the Kid's sudden compassion and undertaking of the situation.  


  
"That's so sweet!" Arrowette gave him a warm hug. He smiled back.   


  
"Well, when you're the coolest kid around it's hard not to be perfect."  


  
"You just lost your sweetness, Kon." She rolled her eyes a bit playfully. Suddenly, Bart zwipped over blowing past the people.   


  
"That's just about everyone!" He cried. It was relieving to see the previously ailed Impulse up and about again. As once stated, there is nothing sadder than a depressed Impulse. "Where's Rob? I'm ready to vamoose."  


  
"Dunno," Superboy commented, "last saw him talking to that chick from the cave-in." Superboy jerked a thumb toward where Robin was standing. He seemed rather uncomfortable as he shifted from foot to foot. Impulse began to take off toward Robin when SB grabbed onto his shoulder.  


  
"Hey! Whud ya do that for?!" Impulse cried, indignant.  


  
"Let the kids have some time alone." Superboy gave a quick wink with a smile. Bart paused.  


  
"Whud ya do that for?!" He cried again. SB slapped his forehead and Arrowette just giggled again at Impulse's childish nature. Finally the whole thing was ending. The terrible pain of watching her friends die in front of her and of knowing that she'd be the only one alive. She shuddered imagining it and then silently thanked God for helping them all be strong. Robin approached with an odd expression on his face.  


  
"Hey Robin, we ready to jet?" SB asked.   


  
"Uh…yeah." Robin answered still feeling a little sick, although he was cured, and extremely _extremely_ tired. He rubbed his eyes for a second and was taken a bit aback by Kon next question.  


  
"So…Rob, what did that girl want?"   


  
"Actually…" Robin said looking back toward her, "my phone number…" The small troupe of superheroes guffawed at the thought. Robin gave a light chuckle letting his guise slip so his team would feel more relived. The gang had needed a stress reliever after all of what had happened that night. He put on a serious face "Where's Cass, Sec, Red Tornado, and Marina?" He questioned.  


  
"Marina's finishing up with the last of the infected," Arrowette pointed in the direction of the aforementioned individual, "Cassie, Secret, and Reddy are just finishing up with the subjects."   


  
Although Young Justice had broken subjects out of the D.E.O before, this time had to be different. Many had gotten hurt in the deconstruction of the certain sector in the D.E.O, and Young Justice couldn't have possibly taken care of all the harmed subjects. This time, they would have to leave the creatures in the hands of the D.E.O, even in the hands of the insane Lutwidge. Robin winced at the thought as he watched his two teammates assist the last of the injured subjects. His eyes suddenly gazed on another of his "teammates".  


  
_Teammates…_ Robin questioned to himself gazing upon Marina. She was watching Secret help a rather fuzzy young man into the hands of some agents. Marina had hate, but hopelessness in her turquoise eyes staring at the guard. _Should we accept her as a new teammate?_ Robin had had little experience with her considering everything going on at the time. Marina seemed sweet, and nice with good intentions as well as an interesting and unusual ability. But, from what he had gathered, she was self-centered, impulsive, and often uninformed about the world around her. Robin smirked; she would fit right in.  


  
Secret smiled at Cassie trying to keep her mind off of the subject she just turned over to a place she hated so much. Cassie gave a trying smile back as Red Tornado handed the subject over himself. The day, well more like the night, had been much too rough on WonderGirl. Being out like a light for the longest time REALLY didn't help either. The last thing she remembered was Cissie's worried face before she went down.   


  
"That's the last of them." WonderGirl sighed, happy to be finally finished with this endless night. She felt as if she were trapped in some horrible never-ending story with _way_ too many chapters. She shook her head from the thought. "Let's go home."  


  
"Well said, WonderGirl." Red Tornado commented, equally as fatigued as all the others although he was merely an android and probably shouldn't have been able to feel weariness. It felt great.   


  
The three headed back toward the small assembling group. While Marina finished up with the last of the people.  


  
"Whew." Marina sighed wiping something that might possibly be considered sweat off her brow. "I believe that is the last of them." She called over toward the group. The young creature she had finished helping out leapt for joy as its strength returned. It gave Marina a giant hug in its monstrously large arms. Marina found herself squished up against the creature's chest. "Ack! Yeah…you're…welcome…Jaime…" She commented to the monster she'd known so well in her own incarceration. Jaime finished the hug and gave a large toothy grin.   


  
"Come on guys," Robin called assembling his team, "we better get going." Robin's thoughts traveled back to his friend in the hospital and the shoot out that started it. "Hold on…" He whispered to his friend who could never hear those words.  


  
"I'm finished." Marina gave an exasperated sigh. This whole curing process took a lot out of her (pun intended). Robin snapped out of his thoughts and gave a smile toward her. Through this tough time she had seemingly proven herself.   


  
"Marina," Robin caught her attention, "do you have any idea where you're going after this?"  


  
"You've just saved the D.E.O, what do you plan to do next?" Superboy questioned, quoting the ever-so-famous commercial. Marina stared blankly.  


  
"She didn't save the D.E.O. She helped destroy it!" Impulse commented.  


  
"Let it go, Impulse, let it go." Red Tornado stated slowly.  


  
"Well, I was actually planning on joining a team…" She started slowly when she felt an almost crushing embrace from Impulse.  


  
"WELCOME ABOARD MATEY!" He shouted, "Now a few things you gotta know is that we usually like to have clothes on our members so you'll have to work on that, the library is for geeks only Rob hangs out there, don't get TOO close to Superboy after he's had burritos…"   


  
"No, no!" Marina cried slipping out from Bart's grip, "I meant them." She pointed towards a small diverse group of subjects standing away from the D.E.O. "We decided to leave the D.E.O and form our own group. To save the others who are being tortured and to…honor my brother's memory." She commented sadly looking toward them.  


  
"Oh…" Bart utter a little depressed. Secret too looked a little disappointed.  


  
"If you're sure, Marina." Robin said with a little bit of a cross look toward Impulse.  


  
"I'm sure. I really liked hanging out with you guys. You were all so nice and I'll never forget you. You gave me a name, and a purpose. Thank you all so much. Maybe we'll meet again." She gave a weak grin and waved a watery hand as a goodbye and went off with the other escapees, into the concealing fog. Young Justice watched their newest friend become one with the gray blanket of mist surrounding everything. They would remember her too. A twinge of sadness stung their hearts as she disappeared.  


  
"Whadda ya mean 'after he eats burritos'?" Superboy broke the silence yelling at Bart.  


  
"Well you know what I mean. WHEW!" Impulse looked off the side comically.  


  
"WHY YOU!" SB cried trying (in utter vain) to chase down the speedster. Robin just shook his head. There was no one who could wreck a moment like those two.  


  
"Come on you guys…let's all go home."  


  



	33. Part 33: Epilogue

  
"I…am…sooooooo tired." Cassie complained softly. She flopped down on her bed ready to fall asleep in an instant. Cissie came in through the window practically tripping over a few stuffed animals and Teen Beat magazines. She stumbled over to Cassie's bed, still in her Arrowette garb. Cassie's voice was muffled into the pillow as she spoke. "Wake me in a week."

  
"Agreed…" Cissie slid down the side of the bed sitting on the overly cluttered floor with a thump. She shifted uncomfortably feeling she had probably just sat on some poor cuddly creature. She crossed her arms over her knees and rested her head on them. 

  
Robin and the others had given a less than cheerful good-bye as she had climbed off of the Super-Cycle. They were all bushed. Superboy was shakily reclining, practically nodding off with every jolt of the Cycle, Secret was barely keeping herself awake and keeping up with the Cycle, even the speedster was trying to nap in the back. It was really quite cute. Robin, however, seemed alert and attentive. Cissie questioned if he was even human sometimes.

  
Cissie blinked into the darkness of Cassie's bedroom, pairs of paper eyes staring back at her from posters on Cassie's pink walls. Cissie breathed a heavy sigh and couldn't contain it any longer.

  
"Cassie?" She whispered softly.

  
"Whaaaaat?" Cassie moaned, her wig now fallen off of her head and onto the pillow beside her. She turned her face to breathe and to hear Cissie better.

  
"That was…really cool. I mean…we just saved the world from possibly the worst disease known to man. We…we saved everybody." Her voice was low, but it seemed kind of excited. Cassie shifted a little more.

  
"I don't mean to sound unappreciative or uncaring but we can talk about this in the morning? This whole saving the world thing…get used to it." Cassie muttered. Cissie smiled, too tired to laugh. She climbed up on the bed and lied down next to Cassie. The floor was too cluttered and a nice, soft, warm, comfortable, bed was just too good to pass up. Before she fell asleep, something bothered her.

  
"Hey…Cassie?"

  
"What?" Cassie complained again.

  
"How DID you contract the disease in the first place?" Cissie questioned. Cassie smiled a bit.

  
"I'll tell you tomorrow…or maybe when you're older." She responded. Cissie gave her a slight questioning look, but yawned lowly and they both fell asleep.

  


  
* * * *

  


  
It was an odd and rather unnerving sight to watch the world's most impulsive and out-of-control teenage speedster trudge to the door of his home in Manchester, Alabama. The speedster had been doing a fine job with his energy, but as soon as he'd left the D.E.O, Bart had calmed down considerably. With the excitement of the evening gone, Bart had become much more…manageable.

  
The door of Max Crandel and Helen slammed shut and as Max braced himself for a hurricane, he only heard large shoes pounding up the staircase. Helen had long since gone to bed, it was much too late. But Max, in his concern for his "nephew", awaited his return. This was something he didn't expect. 

  
Max folded his newspaper and climbed the stairs quickly; Bart was only halfway up the staircase. Max frowned, suddenly worried and almost in a panic. 

  
"Bart…are you okay?" Max asked. 

  
"Yeah Max, I'm…fine." Bart yawned and stretched. "I'm a little tired though." Max glanced at his watch. 

  
"As well you should be!" He noted, almost astonished at the time. "What exactly happened there, Bart? You leave for a YJ meeting and you don't return for hours. There's no call, no notice. I'm getting the feeling that maybe something's happened to you. I thought for sure you'd done something impulsive again and I'm not afraid to admit I was frightened. Helen stayed up almost all night waiting for you. I practically had to force her to go to sleep she was so worried. I'm not sure she's asleep now. I was just about going crazy thinking you'd done another spontaneous-Bart?" Max noticed that in his long and worried speech, Bart had drifted off, while standing up. 

  
Max frowned with a twitch in his eye, which he had developed over a long time with Bart. He thought Robin might have developed one too. Max sighed and smiled. At least he was all right, that's all that was important. 

  
He picked up the sleeping speedster and carried him off to bed shaking his head slightly. He laid the young boy in bed and pulled up the covers. Bart's eyes were shut lightly and Max sighed. He moved over to the door and opened it slowly, the light pouring in from the hall. Bart's light breathing could be heard as Max's silhouette shown from the doorway. 

  
"Good night, Bart." Max half-whispered, smiling slightly. He turned to leave thinking to himself. _ I'll talk to him in the morning. _

  
"Good night, Max." He heard come from the teenager as he supposedly slept. Max frowned _EARLY in the morning_

  


  


* * * *

  


  
A cool draft ran through the Justice Cave as Secret floated in the main meeting room. Her mist circled around as she hovered lightly above Green Lantern's old chair. She let out an exhausted sigh. The day had been a long and sad one. In that single day she had gained and lost a new friend, a soul such as herself lost in the tortures of the D.E.O. But, at least she could take solace in the fact that her friend had escaped and would find happiness with her new friends.

  
Marina had told Secret before they had finally left for home that she would remember Young Justice, remember everything they had done for her and how they had been terrific friends. Secret sighed again sadly, the destroyed monitors bringing her little comfort. The steady lines of gray, black, and white that ran across the screen proved horrible company. 

  
Suddenly she heard a loud clunk. She turned around ready to attack when she saw Superboy standing behind her, a sheepish look on his face. He smiled a little embarrassed picking up the fallen "Superman" chair he'd accidentally knocked down. 

  
"Sorry Sec, didn't mean to scare ya." He smiled sympathetically. She floated above the ground slightly stunned. The fizzing sound of the broken equipment that surrounded them the only filler. 

  
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at-" She started.

  
"Nah." Kon-el waved her off slightly. "You know, it's been wayyyy too long a day to possibly go back. I'm exhausted. 'Sides," He grinned, "you seem a little lonely." Superboy stated sitting in the Superman chair backwards. Secret stared at him surprised but smiled softly. She hovered above the Green Lantern chair mock sitting. There was a long silence as a drip echoed from somewhere in the cave. Secret looked down shyly. 

  
"Thank you." Secret blushed lightly. There was another pause.

  
"For what?" Superboy questioned genuinely. Secret blushed a little more. Superboy smiled and cricked his neck. "Uh, just do me one favor, Sec."

  
"Sure, what?"

  
"Don't wake me for 3 months." Superboy groaned stretching a bit. Secret just laughed.

  


  


* * * *

  


  
"When's Daddy commin' home?" Traya asked her mother sadly as she looked out the window into a darkened Chicago sky. She had been fretting for the past couple of hours about her father's safety. Kathy Sutton gave Traya a sorrow-filled look. _Poor Traya._ Kathy thought looking through the window as well. _Why do you always worry us so, John?_

  
"Well, Honey, he'll be home soon. It's time for bed anyway, why don't you get ready for bed?" She encouraged the young child. Traya still looked longingly out the window, resting her chin in the palm of her hand.

  
"But Mommy, what if he comes while I'm asleep?" Traya begged staring at the city skyline. "He said he'd be back! He said he would!" Traya exclaimed almost on the brink of tears. Kathy wrapped her arms around her little girl and let her cry into her shoulder.

  
"There, there Traya. It's all right. Daddy will be home soon enough you'll see." Kathy smiled brushing a hand through Traya's short black hair. Traya just whimpered softly and looked back out the window hoping to catch some glimpse of her father or feel the breeze of the wind against her cheek. Any sign that he may return home soon. 

  
Kathy prayed softly that John would return home soon. She looked out the window as well, hoping to see that familiar figure in the sky. 

  
"Why is everyone looking toward the window?" Red Tornado (AKA John Smith) asked as he stood in the doorway to his apartment. 

  
Two sets of surprised eyes turned to see him. Both filled with glee. 

  
"DADDY!" Traya yelled excitedly and ran toward him wrapping her arms around him. "I knew you'd be back! I KNEW it! I told you Mommy, didn't I?" She happily hugged onto him tightly. Kathy Sutton raised to her feet and smiled, relieved. 

  
She walked slowly over to John and hugged him tightly with one arm resting on Traya's shoulder.

  
"John," Kathy murmured with tears in her eyes. "I don't know why but this time…this time I thought you weren't coming back. This time I thought you were in such horrible trouble. I don't know why I thought that." Kathy whispered softly.

  
John Smith lived in that moment. Lived in the warm touch of his wife and daughter. Lived in the tears that ran down his metallic skin. He lived in that very place in time. He'd never felt more alive, more human…more loved before than with his daughter and wife hugging him so tightly. All the struggle of that day, all the destruction, it faded away as the touch of his family made him feel warmer and happier than he thought any man could ever be. 

  


* * * *

  


  
The steady hiss and hum of hospital equipment surrounded Tim as his eyes rested upon someone he hadn't seen in a long time. He gave the hand he was holding a gentle squeeze as the monitor next to the bed clicked vigorously. The body on the bed was still and motionless the sheets just draped over the pale body, barley keeping below the boy's chin.

  
Tim looked around the room to see cards and pictures and other "Get Well" gifts along the white walls and on the floor, all of which Tim doubted his friend would ever see. A stuffed teddy bear on the other side of the room seemed to be keeping Tim more company than the person lying on the bed. 

  
Last night had been one of the most horrible nights of Tim Drake's life. He watched almost helplessly as his friend, the same friend lying in the hospital bed was shot in front of him. Blood poured from the boy seeping out of his wound onto the gravel, over the broken pavement and into every crack in the ground. The look of pain on that boy's face was the most heart wrenching looked of utter anguish Tim thought he had ever seen.

  
And there he was. Lying there. Lying in the white hospital sheets as if he was all ready dead. All someone needed to do was put that sheet over his face. Tim couldn't bear to look at him any longer, not like this. Tim turned his head away.

  
His day had been filled with pain and damage. He felt he'd caused this. All of this. From his friend's hospitalization to the disease his whole team had suffered from. Tim shuddered sadly, his back still aching his body ridden past exhaustion, but it meant nothing as long as he could be there for his friend's last moments. _Please don't let these be his last moments. _ Tim prayed softly. 

  
The night grew on and as Tim sat there holding his friend's hand, he couldn't help but let a few tears fall from his eyes. _I'm sorry_. Tim thought. He licked his lips slowly and said it aloud.

  
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I couldn't save you. I'm sorry I wasn't there on time. I'm sorry I couldn't have come here sooner and sat next to you sooner and said these words earlier. Man…I don't even know if…if you're gonna…you were a…are a really great friend, you know that?" Tim smiled sadly. "You always were and you know I stayed with your mom when she was in the hospital and I'll stay with you." Tim dropped off as another hiss from the respiratory began. Tim's voice shuddered as he spoke. "I'm sorry."

  
Tim bowed his head the machines blocking the sound of his tears. He heard a soft groan and looked down at the face beneath the respirator mask. His eyelids fluttered softly as he let out another groan. Tim's eyes went wide and a smile graced his face. 

  
"Hey, how…how are you?" Tim stuttered and his friend fluttered his eyelids a bit, "I…uh…I guess you can't answer that right now." Tim wiped his tears away and…and his friend smiled. It took a lot of energy and effort and it was almost a strain but he smiled. And suddenly, that seemed like the perfect end to that hard day's night. 

  
  


-THE END-

  
  


  



End file.
